Light Up
by Lois4Kent
Summary: My Ship Day contribution. A/U. CHAPTER 7: Jack caught up to her stride, and nudged her gently with his shoulder. "Not bad with quarks, hey?" "Depends on whether you're talking about you or me." Sam smiled. "Okay, so I didn't know the answer… perse." Jack admitted. Sam chuckled. "Just don't tell Daniel." "I won't." Sam replied, once again brushing the back of her hand against his.
1. Chapter 1

LIGHT UP

CHAPTER 1

"Honey, please stop kicking the seat?" Jack O'Neill asked, and certainly not for the first time in his life – not for the first time today even.

Jack felt her respond immediately, the pressure on his back easing as she retracted her tiny legs. He twisted in his seat to peer around at the five year old sitting in the car seat behind him.

"I was just stretching my legs." The little girl proclaimed innocently, but with a slight smile that told her father she knew exactly what she was doing.

That was Sara in a nut shell… Most of the time she was quiet and reserved… some might even say stoic.

Well, as stoic as someone of such small stature could get.

But when she did choose to open her mouth, you never could be sure what she was going to say. She also had an impeccable sense of humour for a child her age.

Quite the attitude as well.

A lot of people said that she was just like her father.

He had no idea what they were talking about.

"You can do that once we get out of the car."

"I'm sorry, Daddy." Sara said sweetly, with a hint of sadness in her voice.

She tilted her head to the side slightly, and squeezed one of the woollen braids that hung from her laplander hat in her fist. Jack could tell from that action that she truly felt remorse. Sara always clenched her fists when she was feeling anxious, just like he did. He wondered for a moment if it was a habit she'd picked up from seeing him stressed.

"It's okay, Honey." Jack said softly.

Sara's little face immediately lit up. That kid had a smile that could light up an entire town.

_God help the young men that cross her path when she became a teenager. Goners for sure…_

Not that that would ever happen because he certainly wouldn't be letting her date until she was thirty. At least.

"Can we get some candies in there?" Sara asked hopefully.

"We'll see." Jack said as he unclipped his seat belt. "Button up your coat. It's chilly out there; we may just turn into snowmen."

"But, I'm a girl!" Sara protested, as she began fastening the buttons on her purple coat.

"Okay, snowman and snowgirl."

"No!"

Jack grinned to himself as he jumped out of the car and made his way to her door. He swung it open before he continued.

"We'll have to get some carrots in case we need noses on our faces."

"People don't turn to snow Daddy!"

"There's a first time for everything."

He took hold of the little girl and lifted her out of the seat and onto the ground beside him.

"Ah! It's really wet!" Sara said, staring at the half inch of water that surrounded her boots.

"Looks like we won't be turning into snowmen today – clearly Frosty didn't make it." Jack said as he locked the car door.

He glanced up at the sky for a moment. It actually was quite a nice day out today. It wasn't warm by any stretch of the imagination, but you could venture out in a jacket or coat without the need to pile on the layers.

There had been very little snow in over a week, so wherever puddles had the chance to form they had, and wherever there was dirt there was mushy ground.

Indeed this probably wasn't the best place to park, but at a reasonably small grocery store there weren't a lot of options.

"I hope my socks don't get wet!" Sara said as Jack took her hand.

"I don't think they will – that's what rain boots are for."

"I really like them Daddy – do you know why?"

"Hmm… let me guess… they're purple?"

As far as Jack knew it was typical for little girls had an obsession with pink – well not Sara.

Anything she wanted or needed she had to have the colour purple. She'd probably bathe in the colour if she could.

Jack had even painted her bedroom a nice shade of lavender in hopes Sara would want to start sleeping in there again.

After the walls had dried and the objectionable smell of fresh paint had abated, he'd taken her shopping for a new comforter. He let her choose it entirely on her own, in hopes of sealing the deal.

Of course she'd chosen the only quilt that had purple on it - with hearts and flowers to boot. In seeing her eyes light up at the sight of it, and her excitement as she carried it into the house, Jack felt confident that she'd now be sleeping in her own room.

He read her a book and put her to bed that night, and stayed with her until she fell asleep.

Much to his dismay, when he woke up in the morning he found her back in Charlie's room, sleeping amongst the memoires of the brother she'd lost but couldn't let go.

It had been almost two years now, and to this day she was adamant that no one touch his belongings.

Jack never questioned her on the matter. He felt sure that Sara knew Charlie would never return. But holding onto his belongings was her way of coping – it's probably what her mother would have done if she'd been alive.

Jack on the other hand could barely stand to look at his name plaque on his bedroom door.

He had entered that room the night of his son's funeral, with the revolver that had taken his son from him… _his_ revolver.

If the pitter-patter of little three year old feet hadn't interrupted him that night he didn't like to think what he might have done.

He still avoided that room as much as possible. The emptiness of it was too much to bear. The noise and laughter… the love that once filled it… was gone, and the void seemed to eat away at him whenever he was forced to set foot through the doorway.

He let Sara's grandfather, Mike, put her to bed every night and he did Jack the service of never questioning why.

He knew why, as he had lost a child himself.

"And they have sparkly bits in them too, Daddy. But mainly because they're purple."

"Well that's _shocking_." Jack feigned surprise causing Sara to giggle.

They were nearing the entrance to the store.

Jack liked this supermarket as it was rarely crowded. He didn't do the 'people' thing - at least not if he could avoid it.

_In the front entrance, out the back… nice and quick. Fifteen minutes, tops._

Who was he kidding? Nothing was ever quick with a five year old in tow.

_They'd probably spend fifteen minutes just choosing an ice-cream flavour._

The automatic door slid open as they walked into the store. It was a little more busy than usual, which explained the lack of parking spots in the lot outside.

"Do you want to ride in the cart?"

"No way! I'm too old for that!"

"Right. How old are you again… twenty one?"

"No. I'm five!"

"Oh right… five. Then how about you go pick up a bottle of scotch for your grandpa and I'll meet you back at the car when I'm done."

"I can't so that!"

"Then you can drive us home!"

"No I can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because, I'm too little!"

"That's right… and what do little girls do?"

"I don't know."

"They ride in the cart!" Jack said, tickling her and lifting a giggling Sara into the shopping cart.

"Now… what's first on the agenda?" Jack asked, glancing around.

"What's on the list?" Asked Sara, who was stretching her arms to grasp on to both sides of the cart.

"Oh… darn it - the dog must have eaten it."

"But we don't have a dog." Sara chimed.

"Well then I guess I forgot to write one." Jack admitted, while grabbing a bunch of bananas and placing them in the cart beside Sara.

"Grandpa always has a list when I go shopping with him."

"Yeah, but Daddy's a rebel."

"What's a rebel?"

"It means I'm too cool for any lists… Dad plays by his own rules."

"But Grandpa says it costs less money like that." Sara said, taking the large bag of oranges Jack handed her that was very cutely too big for her to handle.

"Well, I'm sure he's right."

_Mike was usually right._

Jack was forever indebted to the man, whom done more for him than he could ever repay.

When Jack had lost his wife Sara, Mike had also lost his daughter. Yet the man carried on with a strength that Jack could only aspire to.

She'd only gotten to hold their daughter for a moment before her blood pressure dropped. She'd been rushed to emergency, and when the doctors returned an hour later she was already gone.

Jack left the hospital immediately to begin arranging the funeral and drink himself into a coma.

In the weeks and months following Mike had been the one that carried both him and his children.

He was the one who held the baby, and fed her, and clothed her, who played with Charlie, and took Charlie to preschool so he could retain some sense of normalcy.

The baby had been due to come home on the day of his Sara's funeral.

Mike had come to him, telling him that the baby needed to be named before she left the hospital.

"_You name her."_ Was all he had said.

If Jack had been anything resembling a functional human being at the time he probably would have chosen that name himself.

"Oh, look Daddy! Can we get some of that?" Sara squealed, pointing at a log of cookie dough.

"I'm pretty sure your Grandpa would kill me."

"No he won't! He likes cookies!" She insisted.

"It's not good for your teeth." Jack tried to reason, although he knew there was excuse on Earth he could come up with that would appease the little girl.

"Pleeeeaaseee?" Sara looked up at him with those sad, imploring eyes.

It really was amazing.

Here was a man who had spent the past two and a half decades in service of the military. He'd seen things that no man should ever see. He'd done things that no man should ever be forced to do. He'd been on the front line of wars in foreign countries.

_Hell… even foreign planets on one occasion._

Jack had commanded some of the most dangerous and covert missions ever undertaken by the US government. Yet somehow those pleading eyes and that sweet little face had the power to completely disarm him.

"Aw, how can you say no to that?" A ladies voice interjected. Jack turned to see a tall woman, with short blonde hair and blue eyes standing beside him.

She was beautiful by and standards, and as far as Jack could tell he had never seen her before.

"I can't - that's the problem."

"I have a niece and nephew that have me wrapped around their little fingers. It's the cute face – that's how they get you."

"Not fair is it?" Jack said casually.

"Hardly surprising though, she must get her good looks from her Dad."

Jack was a little taken aback. This wasn't the first time he had been hit on in recent years, but rarely did anyone approach him when he was with his daughter. She seemed a clear cut signal that he was taken. It surprised him enough when woman came onto him while he was wearing a wedding band – which hadn't left his finger a day since his wife had died, or even since the day he had gotten married.

Jack also couldn't figure out what a woman probably yet to hit 30 wanted with an old man like him. Sure he was in good shape for his age, but he was far from the days of hitting the town on Friday night and had been for quite some time.

There was no one else for him.

When his wife had died, she had taken half his heart with her. He was sure the only reason it was still beating was the little girl standing in front of him.

Sara hadn't just saved him the night she wandered into Charlie's room and saw the gun in his hands. She'd saved him everyday since, in so many ways he couldn't count. And just like her mother Jack couldn't quite figure out what he'd done to deserve her.

"She's all her mother." Jack smiled at Sara lovingly. He took a log of chocolate chip cookie dough and handed it to the little girl.

"Thank you Daddy!" Sara cried, sitting down in the cart and beholding her newly acquired prize.

Jack smiled briefly at the woman before pushing the shopping cart onwards and not looking back until he'd completely left the isle and was out of the woman's sight.

Jack peered into the half full cart. Well actually it was completely full. Half with groceries and half with little girl.

"I think you're going to have to jump out now Sara. That is if we want to get any more shopping done. It's pretty crowded in there."

"Okay Daddy. My legs need more stretches anyway." Jack picked the little girl up and placed her on the supermarket floor. "There… plenty of room."

"Can I help get something?" Sara asked staring up at her father as they continued walking along.

"Like what?"

"Some candies?"

"Uh uh. Nice try young lady." Jack said, shaking his head at her. "I think that log of dough has enough sugar to last you a week."

"Can I get the cereal then?" Sara pleaded.

"I don't think so Sweetie."

"But Grandpa lets me help him."

"Do you know where they are?" Jack asked, sure the answer would be 'maybe'.

"Yes, Daddy, isle 6."

"Impressive. I didn't even know that." The little girl beamed at him, pleased she could impress her father. "Do you know what kind to get?"

"Froot Loops and All Bran."

"Are you sure you're not sick of All Bran?" Jack questioned, not quite sure how his daughter could stand the stuff.

"No Daddy. I like it."

"Alright, Froot Loops and All Bran it is. I want you to go grab them and come straight back okay? I'll stay here and find a new shampoo and conditioner – my hair seems to be getting grayer by the day and I'm pretty sure it's the stuff we're using. I should really call that number on the bottle and complain." Jack said in mock seriousness.

Sara giggled and ran off down the isle to find the breakfast cereal.

Her grandfather always noted what items were in which isle to save time, and she always held the list when they went shopping. She knew exactly where to go, and she knew her Daddy would smile because she helped him.

She found the sign that said isle six and hurried down it, but when she reached the cereal she faced quite the dilemma.

There was a shopping cart blocking her way…

Standing next to it was a pretty woman with long blonde hair. She was holding a box of Frootees and seemed to be checking out the box.

Sara could only deduce that the lady must be checking what kind of toys were inside. Sara knew the answer - _none!_

_And they tasted terrible!_ Being the sweet girl she was, Sara felt inclined to speak up and stop the pretty lady with glasses from making a terrible mistake!

But she knew the rules… she wasn't supposed to talk to strangers. She wanted her father to be happy with her for getting him the cereal, not cross with her for breaking the rules.

Sara stood by timidly and watched as the woman continued to stare at the box.

_She looks like a princess with glasses._

Sara felt sure this lady was nice and kind, and probably smart too… _that must be why she wore glasses._ She wasn't a scary person – she could feel it in her gut. Besides, she had to ask the lady to move or she would take too long getting back to her father and that might also make her Dad mad.

"Those ones don't have any toys." Sara said meekly.

The woman looked up from the box she was holding.

"Excuse me?"

"Them ones don't have any toys… and they taste really yuck. You should get the kind that we get, they have toys right now."

The lady just stood there and smiled at her for a moment before she replied.

"Well, thank you for telling me… that was a close one! I was actually just checking the ingredients, but if they don't have any toys then I definitely don't want them." She said, placing them back on the shelf with the other boxes.

"Why were you checking the ingredients?" Sara asked curiously.

"I was just seeing what kind of bad chemicals might be in them." The pretty lady with glasses explained.

"My Daddy says it's the bad stuff that tastes the best."

The woman smiled to herself, wondering what kind of man would tell their child something like that.

Although with a quick glimpse into her cart, and seeing the box of donuts that had inexplicably made their way into it against her better judgement she knew the girls father was absolutely right.

"I guess that's true." The woman smiled at the little girl before looking up and down the isle to see if she could locate a parent. "Are you here with your Mom?"

"No. My Daddy. He sent me to get the cereal, but I can't get it."

"Why not?" Asked the woman.

Sara stared pointedly at the shopping cart blocking the Froot Loops.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sweetie." The woman dragged the cart backwards to reveal the boxes of cereal hidden behind.

"That's okay, Mam."

The woman was impressed. Whoever this child's parents were they had certainly done a great job of teaching her manners.

Sara grabbed the big box of cereal with two hands, and for the first time questioned whether or not she could actually carry two of them by herself.

"You should get this kind too. You see, they have really cool toys." Sara said holding up the box for the lady to see.

"You're right! I have been wanting a little helicopter for a while now." The lady smiled at her as the little girl placed the box on the floor. She appeared to be worried about something, glancing up at the shelf above her.

"Something wrong?"

"I was supposed to get cereal for me and Daddy, but I can't reach it." She said, pointing up at the cereal on the top shelf. Even on her tippy toes she'd have to grow a couple of feet to be able to reach it. "Can you help me?"

"Of course." The woman reached up to grab a box of All Bran.

"No! I told Daddy I would get it. Can you please lift me up?" Said the little girl, clearly stretching with all her might.

The woman looked unsure for a moment. It didn't seem wise to engage with an unknown and unsupervised child in the middle of a grocery store. She may be a woman, but social convention said that was something that adults shouldn't do. She looked down at the little girl beside her… she had the sweetest little face… one that was near impossible to say no to.

"Sure." Said the woman, moving behind her. She wrapped her arms around the little girls waist. "Are you ready?"

Sara nodded.

"Okay… 1, 2, 3!" The woman lifted the girl up off the ground and her little hands flew around the cereal box.

"Got it!" Sara said triumphantly.

Once she was placed back down on the ground, she placed the box of All Bran on top of the Froot Loops.

"Thank you, Mam." The little girl said gratefully.

Then Sara did something that surprised the woman greatly. She stood up as straight as she could and brought her hand up to her forehead in a military-like salute.

It was bizarre and spectacularly adorable to see someone so tiny show such respect.

"You're very welcome." The woman said, not quite believing any child could be so adorable. Then the little girl did something that surprised her even more. Sara ran towards her and flung her arms around her waist in one swift motion.

She wasn't sure how she's gone from grocery shopping to having a little girl with a vice-like grip attached to her hip, but this was far from an unpleasant turn of events. She had the feeling in the coming weeks she'd be flooded with the yearning for a child of her own. It was almost guaranteed by the way the small girl stared up at her.

She had the most remarkable eyes she'd ever seen on a child. They were dark, and soulful, and expressed much more than her gentle voice.

Sara reluctantly let go of pretty blonde woman and returned to collect her cereal boxes. She struggled to get a grasp on them, but eventually managed to hold them steady in a bear hug against her chest. Her hands barely met and if the boxes had been even slightly larger, it would have been near impossible for her to carry them alone. She spun around to say goodbye, although she truly wished she could stay. If she didn't get back very soon her father would be cross.

"I have to go now." She said sadly.

"It was really nice to meet you…" The woman paused, realising she hadn't asked the girls name. "What's your name?"

"I'm Sara. What's your name?"

"Sam."

"That's a boy's name!"

"Yes, I suppose it is." Sam laughed at the little girls look of loathing.

"It was really nice to meet you too Sam. I have to go before Daddy gets mad I was gone too long."

"You better hurry then." Said the woman giving her a slight wave.

"Okay." And with that the little girl spun around and trotted awkwardly up the isle as fast as the cereal boxes would allow. She didn't stop until she had her father back in her sights, which didn't take very long because he was just around the corner.

"Sara! I told you to come right back! I was worried about you."

"I'm sorry Daddy."

Jack knelt down and took the two large boxes from his daughter.

"It's alright, looks like you did a good job here. Why were you gone so long?"

"I couldn't get the cereal because it was too high."

"Then how did you get it?" Jack asked.

"Sam picked me up." Sara said plainly.

Jack's heart fell from his chest down to his shoes. Immediately his mind was racing with thoughts of a strange man approaching his daughter and making his way out of the store with her.

_Damn it! What kind of a father was he?! He should never have let her out of his sight! It would have been all his fault if anything happened!_

"What!? What do you mean?"

"She lifted me off the ground so I could grab it. I wanted to get it myself."

_She?_ Jack's heart started beating again. "I know I'm not supposed to talk to strangers Daddy. But you do tell me to ask for help if I need it."

Jack took a steadying breath and climbed to his feet.

"I do say that don't I?" He forced himself to smile, although the fear hadn't completely left him.

"And she was really nice Daddy. She had glasses and everything!" Sara said as they continued walking to the next isle.

"She must be smart." Jack mused.

"She was…" Sara insisted. _"Really _smart."

"Maybe she's a scientist?"

"Well, she was looking at chemicals on the box."

"Yup. Sounds like a scientist to me. Daddy's not really a fan of scientists."

"Why not?"

"From my experience they sneeze a lot. Especially this one guy I know."

"Oh, but you would like Sam Daddy. She's like a princess with glasses."

"A princess with glasses?"

"Yep!" Sara nodded enthusiastically.

"Hmm. Well in that case it's a shame I didn't get to meet her." Jack was humouring his daughter, but her obvious enthusiasm did peak his interest. Sara was usually quite shy, and she tended to withdraw around strangers. He had to wonder what it was about this woman that made her feel comfortable enough to speak.

"We could go find her?!" Sara suggested, almost with a hint of desperation in her voice.

"I don't think so sweetie."

"Why not?" Sara asked, sounding more than a little disappointed.

"Because the princess is supposed to get into trouble and then someone is supposed to rescue her. We don't want to make her late for that."

"You could rescue her!" Sara said hopefully.

"Nah. I already have a princess."

"You mean me, don't you Daddy?"

"Who else?" Jack smiled, pressing his finger to the tip of her little nose. "Besides, if anyone needs the saving it's me." Jack shrugged. "Especially when it comes to barbecues."

Sara nodded in agreement.

LIGHT UP

Jack secured Sara in her seat before returning to the back of the car to unload the shopping into the trunk.

He was grateful for having worn his leather flight-gloves. The cold afternoon air seemed to have taken on a sudden bite during their 52 minute shopping trip.

As he placed the last of the bags in the car, he felt further gratitude towards his father-in-law, who took up the shopping responsibilities. He could certainly think of better ways to spend his Saturday. Rarely a day went by when he didn't have to report to the base, and he didn't like to waste his time off.

But he was spending some quality time with Sara, so that was the silver lining of an otherwise very boring cloud.

Jack quickly returned the cart to the island. Leaving Sara alone in the car for even a minute made his stomach tense, so he moved as swiftly as possible, without resorting to running like some overly-paranoid parent.

On his way back however, he heard something that forced him to slow his pace.

"I can't believe you had the audacity to follow me here! How did you even know where I was?"

It was a woman. Jack could tell the voice came from nearby, but he couldn't see anyone in his direct line of vision.

"I know people around these parts." A voice – distinctly male – replied. Given how muffled the voices sounded, Jack presumed they must be coming from the inside of a vehicle.

"I bet you do." The woman said angrily.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Jack tried to act casual while trying to pin point the people's location. The parking lot was reasonably small, but it was also cramped, and completely packed with vehicles. His gut was telling him that he was needed here. The argument seemed to be nothing more than a lover's quarrel, but something about the woman's voice compelled Jack's feet to remain glued where they were.

"It doesn't matter. I told you it's over. I want nothing more to do with you! Stay away from me!"

"Come on Babe, you know you don't mean that. You love me! We're meant to be together. We're gonna work this whole thing out."

"Do not call me that! I don't love you. How could I love someone who lies, cheats and steals for a living? Get out now or I'm calling the police!"

"Come on, Babe."

Jack heard the sound of a car door opening, and saw a swash of blonde hair rising from the vehicle about eight spaces up ahead. He didn't get a chance to get a good look at the woman, as his attention was immediately drawn towards the passenger door flying open and smashing into the car next to it.

A short, stocky man jumped out of the vehicle and bolted around the other side towards his apparent estranged girlfriend.

Jack started towards the vehicle, not yet sure his intervention was required, but awaiting any sign this woman was in trouble.

"Get away from me Pete!" The woman shouted.

"Come on Babe, you know you'll miss me."

Now that Jack could hear their voices clearly he realized the man was either inebriated or under the influence. His speech was slightly slurred.

"Get off me!"

That was the final straw for Jack - he closed the rest of the distance as fast as his feet would carry him.

As he passed the rear of the woman's car, his eyes landed upon the couple. What Jack saw made his blood boil, and he had to remind himself that he could be reprimanded for using physical force in a civilian setting.

The shabby looking man had the woman pinned up against the vehicle, her wrists restrained by his hands at her side. His body was pushed up against her, forcing himself on her and overpowering her obvious resistance. He had his face buried into her neck, and appeared to be kissing it.

Jack caught sight of the woman's face – and to his surprise she looked neither frightened nor worried.

Instead of fear and doubt, he glimpsed fury and resolve. There was a glint in her eye that said she wouldn't be bettered, no matter how it may appear.

"Hey! I suggest you step away from the lady before I have something to say about it!" Jack barked.

His sudden arrival caught Pete by surprise and he loosened his grip slightly around the woman's wrists.

"This doesn't concern y-."

The mans sentence was cut short by his being thrown back into the car behind him - the woman having kneed him in the groin before her fist flew square into his jaw.

Jack watched in awe as he crumpled to the ground beside the parked car.

Having spent his lifetime serving in the military he had seen women do some remarkable things. But in witnessing a woman overthrow someone with such finesse is such an every day setting, he couldn't help but be impressed.

She hovered above the man, seemingly unfearful and with a steely resilience.

"Get out of here Pete, before I really lose my temper." She said calmly.

The man crawled on his hands and knees towards the front of the car before stumbling to his feet and slinking off towards the parking lot exit.

"Do you want me to call the police?" Jack asked.

"No. Let him sink back into the hole he came from – that's where he belongs."

The woman was yet to look at Jack, her eyes fixed squarely on the man as he stumbled away. Her eyes wouldn't leave him until he was completely out of sight, and she was sure she could allow herself the luxury of distraction.

Jack found himself strangely mesmerized by the woman standing but a few feet in front of him.

He was captivated not just by her actions, but by the aura of astonishing grace that surrounded her. She had just been assaulted and belittled by a man she presumably once cared for, yet she somehow retained an unwavering image of dignity and decorum.

Lost in her concentration, Jack had a chance to assess the woman without worry of her noticing.

She was well dressed, with a gray t-shirt, darkwash denim jeans, and a black trench coat which hung undone on her slender body. She looked elegant and sophisticated, and had a sense of delicate femininity which was not undone by her obvious strength and self-sufficiency.

Her long golden hair was perfectly groomed, and her side-swept fringe framed her delicate features, only adding to her remarkable beauty.

The rectangular styled spectacles she wore only added to Jack's bewilderment.

She certainly didn't appear to be type of person who would associate herself with drug users or criminals.

Jack felt himself being tugged toward her by some unbeknown force.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked softly, not wishing to startle the woman who seemed preoccupied with her attacker's whereabouts.

The woman turned to look at him for the first time.

Jack felt himself being washed away in a sea of sparkling deep blue eyes.

It seemed as if everything surrounding him faded for a moment and the only thing that existed was the colour blue.

"I'm fine. Thank you, sir." The woman said after a moment, pulling Jack out of his haze.

"Sir?" Was all Jack could think to say.

"Force of habit. Military father." The woman smiled at him.

Jack had never seen anything quite as beautiful as that smile.

"That explains the killer moves." Jack tried to say casually, but his heart was beating unusually fast and he didn't quite understand why.

"I think he always wanted me to join the Air Force, but not for me." The woman said, leaning her back against the car.

"Looks like we could have used you."

"We?"

"Air Force man myself." Jack admitted.

"And here I thought I was going to like you." The woman said in mock disappointment.

"I can retire if you like? Have done so before."

"Couldn't keep away?"

"Something like that." There was a moment of silence as they exchanged meaningful glances, and Jack wondered if she was feeling the same odd sense of familiarity that he was.

Jack mentally shook himself, and forced himself to say something. "Are you sure you don't want me to call the authorities? Aren't you worried he'll come back?"

"Do I look worried?" The woman said intrepidly.

"Well that makes one of us." Jack said trying to sound laid-back. But unwittingly, every drop of sincerity shone through.

"You're worried about me?" She smiled - almost as if she knew he was already in love with her.

"I… uh…" Jack stumbled, not quite sure what to say.

The woman grinned victoriously.

"Thank you, but believe me, I can handle myself." She said with confidence but without sounding prideful.

"Yeah… Saw that."

"Thank you though – for trying to help me." The woman turned her eyes onto him again and Jack wondered if he might stop breathing.

"How could I not?" He managed to croak out.

"Not everybody would." She said softly.

"Well than everybody needs their asses kicked."

The woman giggled at him, and all of a sudden Jack O'Neill's world felt whole again.

Who was this woman? And who was she that she dared make half a man feel complete?

"Daddy?" A small voice echoed.

Jack spun around to see his five year old standing less than two feet behind him.

"Sara?!" For the first time in minutes Jack had his feet firmly planted back in reality.

Sara leaned to the side to look behind her father.

"Hi Sam!" Sara chimed, while giving the woman one of the most enthusiastic waves Jack had ever witnessed.

Jack glanced from his daughter up to Sam, who looked slightly bewildered - by what he wasn't sure.

"Did you save the princess Daddy?" Sara stared up at him, gazing at him questioningly.

Jack reached down and pulled her up into his arms, before turning around to smile at Sam.

"Nope." Said Jack. "Turns out the princess can save herself."

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.

**Author's note: So I got to thinking about how Pete might have been if he had never met the cop that supposedly turned his life around and made him one of the good guys.**

**Good guys stalk their new girlfriends, right? :D**

**This FYI, is my project for Ship Day. I will be writing this story during the month and posting the final chapter on July 28****th****.**


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

"Excuse me?" Sam furrowed her brow, not quite understanding the 'princess' remark. She tilted her head to the side in wait of a response.

Jack wondered if everyone looked as endearing when they did that.

"Uh… Sara returned with our breakfast cereal earlier, to regale me with tales of beautiful princesses who wear glasses." The man explained, gesturing widely to emphasize the grandeur of his statement.

"I never said beautiful Daddy." Sara corrected her father.

"Yes you did." He insisted.

"Nuh-uh." Sara shook her head.

"Yes you did!" The man whispered - rather urgently Sam thought.

Sam bit her lower lip in an effort not to smile. Both at the comparison to her being a princess and the adorable sight that was her would-be saviour and the little girl she had already fallen in love with.

The way she bit her lower-lip as her cheeks flushed ever so slightly, did not escape Jack's attention. Even if he was feeling a little flustered, that was pretty hard for him to miss.

He would definitely have to find further ways to embarrass her… because somehow – and Jack wouldn't have thought it possible – she looked even more beautiful when she blushed.

"So it's you I have to thank for safely receiving my Froot Loops?" The man asked, sounding as though Sam had just safely returned his first born.

"I thought those were for your daughter?"

"No way!" Sara looked shocked. "I like All Bran! And Daddy never shares the Froot Loops anyway! They are always all gone."

The man gave Sam an impossibly serious look.

"It's the toucan on the box – he beckons me." Sam couldn't help but giggle. "Besides… I don't see you sharing any of that cookie dough with me young lady – which we _will_ be cooking."

"No! Please Daddy?! You always burn them." Sara pleaded, looking a tad forlorn.

She had him there. Although he was pretty sure he could remember a time when he didn't burn the cookies. _Pretty_ sure.

"This time we'll be really careful." Jack reassured her.

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart." The man answered.

Sara ran her finger over her father's chest in a criss-cross pattern.

"Okay Daddy."

Jack directed his attention back to Sam to see her smiling at him.

"I don't _always_ burn things." He said, with a lot of emphasis on the 'always'.

"It's okay." Sam reassured him, leaning back against her car window. "I can't cook to save my life."

"No?"

"Not my field of expertise unfortunately." Sam admitted, lifting her middle finger to the bridge of her nose and adjusting her glasses.

Jack had never noticed how sexy glasses were.

"In that case, maybe we can exchange take-out menus?"

The man smiled at her, and Sam felt her stomach do a little flip.

"I apologize, but I actually don't have any. I just moved to Colorado Springs yesterday. This is my first shopping trip actually, there's nothing in my fridge but a jug of really bad tap water."

"Well, in that case, Sara and I will have to show you all the good places in town to eat."

"Bowling alley!" Sara squealed excitedly.

"Not exactly fine dining, but the kid makes a good point - some of the best pizza around. Tastes better than half the pizza places around here."

"We're going there tonight." Sara said, smiling at Sam. "Aren't we Daddy?"

"Yes. Indeed we are."

Jack glanced over at Sam, desperately wanting to invite her along.

"Can Sam come?" Sara asked enthusiastically.

_Thank heavens for his little girl…_

"I don't know. Why don't you ask her?"

"Can you come bowling with us Sam? It's really fun! And even funner with three people."

Sam wondered how anyone was supposed to say no to that bright, hopeful little face.

"I.. uh.." Sam was unsure whether or not this was a genuine invitation or the man was just trying to appease his daughter by not saying no directly.

"The pizza's really good." He insisted.

The handsome half-smile on his face coupled with the lovable little girl in his arms pretty much left Sam at a loss.

"I, uh… I'd love to."

Sam wondered whether or not it was prudent of her to accept an invitation from a man right now. Especially seeing as her previous partner had just stalked her and pinned her down against her car.

But the way her heart fluttered every time he spoke alleviated her worry somewhat.

"Excellent. We have a lane booked for seven o'clock, but we usually get there a little earlier so we can eat first. And Sara usually _insists_ I play a few of the arcade games."

Sara shook her head at Sam.

"Ohh.. she _insists_?"

"Yup. I can't see the appeal myself."

"Last time he spent all the quarters and then we had to get more from the man." Sara giggled.

"Shhh!" Jack pressed a finger to her smiling mouth.

"Sounds like fun." Sam couldn't remember the last time she'd even set foot in a bowling alley, or even done anything that could be classified as 'fun'.

Pete Shanahan's idea of fun was a bucket of chicken. Although Sam wondered if sharing a bucket of chicken with _this _man would be fun.

"It's not far from here. Bear Creek Lanes. It's over on South 21st street, not far from the dog park."

"We don't have a dog." Sara said sadly.

"One day Sweetie." Jack bounced her in his arms in an effort to cheer her up. "Think you can find it? Do you need directions?"

"I'm sure I can find my way there."

"We could pick you up if you like?" Jack offered, wanting to do everything he could to ensure she did in fact show up.

"No, that's fine. I'll do my best not to get lost."

"Would you like us to wait with you until the owner's of that car turn up?"

"No. This is my mess, it's my job to clean it up."

"Funny, I don't recall seeing you create that massive dent."

"No. But it was my mistake in getting involved with him in the first place. I should have known better."

"Hey! Don't for a second think this is your fault. You're not responsible for the actions of that jackass." Sara giggled in his ear. "And what's so funny."

"You said a bad word."

"Sometimes it's appropriate. And in this case I can't think of a better word."

"Thank you sir."

"There's that word again."

"Sorry, but I don't actually know what else to call you."

"Ah! Oh!" The man stepped closer to her, and despite the presence of the little girl in his arms Sam felt the desire to close the distance entirely. "It's Jack."

He held out his hand for her to take and was no longer thankful for his fingerless gloves. He longed to feel the warmth of her palm against his.

"Jack." Sam said, staring directly into his eyes and seemingly peering deep into his soul. "Samantha Carter."

"Nice to meet you, Sam." Jack wondered if there was in existence, some nature of excuse for him to remain holding her hand forever.

There was something about this… the three of them standing together, that felt strangely… comfortable. He didn't understand why, and he didn't want the feeling to end before he had a chance to figure it out.

"You should get her home. It's freezing out here." Sam said, her breath visible in the air as she folded her arms across her chest, and rubbed her shoulders in order to warm up. "I could swear it wasn't this cold when I left home."

Jack smiled at his little girl and set her down on the ground. Quickly he removed his coat, and before Sam had a chance to recognise what he was doing he'd stepped before her and was wrapping it around her.

"No! You'll freeze!" Sam protested, staring up at him.

Jack ignored her concerns and pulled it closer around her. He was wearing nothing but a red flannel shirt now, which Sam knew wasn't near enough to keep him warm.

"Nah. Heading home now. You'll need it out here, and you don't know how long those people will be." Jack said, nodding in the direction of the damaged vehicle. He quickly stepped away from her, afraid of invading her space too much.

"You should get a hat like mine Sam." Sara said, tugging at her woollen laplander.

"I agree." Jack said, taking the little girls hand. He turned to smile at Sam. "I think it would suit you."

He continued to grin as he began to lead Sara away.

"Thank you! I promise I'll get it back to you tonight." Sam called, desperately grateful to the kind strangers and wishing they could stay.

"You better! Or you'll be missing out on my fabulous bowling skills." Jack called back.

"But last time you got two gutterballs Daddy." Sam heard Sara say, as they headed in the direction of their car.

Sam watched from a distance, as little Sara reached her arms out for her father. Jack tickled her under the arms before lifting the little girl into his car.

He closed the door behind her, smiling at her through the window.

As he swung open the door of the driver's seat, he spun back around in Sam's direction to wave goodbye.

What Sam didn't know, was that Jack was praying with all his might that this wouldn't be the last time he saw her.

He was still praying as he climbed into the car and turned the key in the ignition.

As they drove away, Sam pulled Jack's coat tightly around her and smiled - her mind a million miles away from the damaged car, and the cad of a man who'd damaged it.

LIGHT UP

The unmistakable sound of bubbles bursting filled the air.

The man sitting alone at the next table threw another disapproving glance in Jack's direction.

Jack refused to say anything to Sara.

He had no time for people who made no allowances for kids being kids - especially in a family environment like this.

If his kid wanted to blow bubbles in her strawberry milkshake, his kid was going to blow bubbles in her strawberry milkshake.

If the man was bothered by children, it probably would have been prudent for him not to come during family hour.

Jack checked his watch. It was a quarter to seven, and he was feeling anxious that the woman he had met earlier that day had changed her mind.

Since he didn't seem to be able to think of anything other than her in the past few hours, and he seriously doubted his ability to forget about this woman if she didn't happen to show up, he was feeling a little on edge.

"You're worried she's not coming, aren't you Daddy?" Sara asked, momentarily releasing the straw from between her lips to speak before recommencing her snorkling-like activity.

"I have no idea what you mean." Jack said, leaning over the table towards Sara and pulling the sleeve of his shirt over his watch nonchalantly.

"Don't worry. Sam will come." She comforted her father.

"What makes you so sure?" Asked Jack.

Although he doubted Sara's ability to gauge the situation accurately, he was willing to take any reassurance he could get.

"Because you're her prince." Sara smiled.  
"Honey, I am not her prince. We are just trying to cheer her up because she had a bad day, and she's new in town, and might not have many friends here. _If_ she comes."

Jack was too preoccupied with Sara's 'prince' remark to notice Sam entering the café and heading in their direction. "And I know she _looks_ like a princess, but she's not one. She's just really, really… _really _gorgeous. Believe me - I think she could find much younger and much more handsome princes than me."

"I think you're a very handsome prince Daddy."

"Well thank you Baby." Jack said, reaching across the table to brush Sara's hair behind her ear. "But I'm not sure if Sam is even looking for a prince right now."

"Well that might depend on the prince." Said Sam, seemingly appearing out of nowhere from behind Jack's shoulder. The look of shock on Jack's face was brief yet unmistakable, which convinced Sam that they had indeed been talking about her. "Sorry if I'm a little late – I headed towards the arcade games first. Thought I was more likely to find you there." Sam bit her bottom lip, in an effort to hide a smile.

Jack tried to shake off how rattled he was by her sudden appearance. He really hoped she hadn't heard the entire 'princess' conversation.

"You mock me now, but later I'm going to be declared zombie slaying champion while they are busy eating your face off." Jack pointed at Sam. "Take a seat." He said, gesturing to Sara's side of the booth. "We still have plenty of time."

"There you go Sam." Said Sara, grabbing her purple hat off the seat beside her and pulling it back onto her head. "You can sit here." She said, patting the space next to her.

"Thank you Sara." Sam said, sliding in beside her.

Jack's mouth suddenly felt dry - she was wearing his jacket. There was something about that, that just seemed… endearing beyond belief.

"Nice jacket." Jack said pointedly. "Suits you."

Sam felt her heart beat just a little faster.

"I agree." Sam said with just as much meaning.

"No glasses?"

"Contacts." Sam said plainly. "I don't actually wear my glasses very often. I just hadn't been able to find my contacts amongst all the boxes yet. Besides, I don't exactly want my glasses falling off my face when I'm armed with a bowling ball."

"I don't know – sounds quite comical to me."

Sam grinned and shot Jack a disapproving look.

"Would you like me to order for you?" Jack offered. "I know Sara's just dying to catch you up on the several hours since we saw you last."

For a moment Jack wondered about the wisdom of leaving his little girl alone Sam. Strangely he had no concern about leaving her alone with someone whom he had just met – which was quite unusual. What did worry him however was what his little angel might say in regards to him being her Prince Charming.

"That would be great, thank you." Sam reached into her brown leather handbag and pulled out a ten dollar bill.

"Get out of here with that Carter." Jack waved the money away. "My treat."

"Uh, thank you." Said Sam, slipping the money back into her bag. "_Carter_?"

"I'm military. I guess that's _my_ force of habit." Said Jack, climbing out of the booth. "What can I get you?"

"Whatever you think is good. That's why I'm here… right?" She stared up at him with her blue eyes – which looked even bluer than he remembered. Jack felt a rush of desire coursing through his veins.

"Right." Jack smiled at her, hoping she was implying what it sounded like she was implying – that he and Sara were the real reason she came. "What's your favourite pizza topping?"

"Ham and pineapple." Sam answered.

"Okay, and here I had you pegged as a sane person." Jack smiled down at her.

"Daddy says fruit on pizza is wrong!" Sara piped up.

"It's really good." Sam insisted, turning to look at the little girl beside her.

"I'll take your word for it." Said Jack. "I'll be right back."

Jack wandered over to the service counter. His heart felt light, and elated… it felt something he hadn't felt in the longest time.

_She came._

"Daddy was worried you weren't coming." Sara said, spinning the straw around the rim of the empty cup in front of her.

Sam didn't want to do anything underhanded and press the little girl for information, but she was feeling too intensely curious about Jack's feelings to stop herself from asking.

"Did he say that?"

"No. I can just tell." Said Sara, matter-of-factly. Sam gazed over at the handsome man standing at the counter, wondering what he was thinking. "He's going to be really happy now."

Sam gulped.

"Why?"

"Because his princess came." Sara said shortly, almost as if the answer was so obvious she didn't see the point of saying it.

"You mean me?" Sam asked, feeling a little teary at how beautifully sweet this little girl was.

Sara nodded her head up and down.

"Honey, I am far, far, far from a princess." Sam said, placing her and on the little girls shoulder.

"Nope. All girls are princesses – my grandpa said so."

"Is your grandpa nice?"

"Very, very nice. He takes care of me when Daddy is gone. Daddy is gone lots, but that's because he needs to make sure all the boys and girls in the world is safe."

"That's right." Sam smiled, trying to convince herself not to cry.

"Something wrong?" Sam looked up to see Jack standing next to her holding out a slice of pizza.

"No! I, uh.." Sam took the plate from Jack's hand. "No. We were just talking."

"About what?" Jack looked a little concerned as he sat back down.

"Princesses!" Sara exclaimed.

Jack was too afraid to ask for specifics and instead decided to divert the conversation.

"Oh! Well, if anyone's the expert it's Sara. You should see her room, it's like a purple princess temple of worship."

"Can she Daddy? I want to show her all my ballet dress!"

"We'll see Honey. Sam's probably really busy with her house at the moment."

Sam hoped she was allowed to see Sara's bedroom one day. This little girl was one of the warmest, kind-hearted and gentle people Sam had ever met.

"It's not too bad." Sam said, taking the slice of pizza into her hands. "I thankfully moved into a fully furnished place. But it'll probably be a little while before it feels like home."

Sam took a bite of her pizza. Sara cringed in disgust as she watched her chew.

Sam noticed her reaction and wondered why she was so opposed to her favourite topping.

"It's really good." Sam insisted. Sara looked at the pizza in Sam's hand cautiously. "Have you ever tried it before?"

She shook her head 'no'.

"No. Daddy never gets pineapple pizza – he says it's an abomilation."

Sam exchanged smiles with Jack.

"You mean abomination?"

"Yes. Abomilation."

Sam stifled another giggle.

"Well I disagree. I think it's the best pizza in the world." Sam took another bite, and did everything she could to make it appear as though it was the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted.

Sara started to look a little less frightened of the pizza and was now analysing it curiously.

"Would you like to try it?" Sam asked gently.

Sara looked at her father, who gave her a humouring thumbs up.

Sam slid the plate across the table in front of Sara. She stared at it uncertainly for a minute before she dared to touch it.

Sam could swear she saw her little hands shake as she lifted the pizza to her mouth and took a bite of ham and pineapple.

She chewed it warily at first, before she decided it wasn't as horrific as she'd imagined, and she took another bite.

"What do you think?" Jack asked, as Sara munched away enthusiastically.

"I like it Daddy." She said through a mouth-full of pizza.

Jack shot a half-accusing glare at Sam.

"What have you done to my child?" Sam laughed softly, and looked down at the little girl at her side. "It doesn't look like you'll be getting that pizza back." Jack said, as Sara gobbled away another bite. "Do you want another slice?"

"No. Thank you, I'm not too hungry. It's good to see her enjoying it."

"Good?!" Jack looked at Sam in mock outrage "You do realize I'm going to be ordering pineapple pizza from now on? How embarrassing!"

"And have you ever tried it?"

"Don't get any ideas Sam. Not in this lifetime."

"You should try it Daddy!" Sara said, placing the pizza crust on the plate. "It's my favourite."

"You see…" Jack stared at Sam and gestured at Sara. "You see what you've done?"

"I'm sorry."

Sam and Sara couldn't contain their amusement and broke out in fits of giggles.

Jack just shook his head and smiled.

LIGHT UP

"Sara, are you sure you don't want to take off your hat?"

"No Daddy. It's gonna help me get a strike!"

"Okay." Jack stood back in defeat. He knew a losing battle when he saw one. She loved that hat. God help him if she was ever to lose it.

Sara walked very carefully up to the line, placed the bright red bowling ball between both her feet and pushed it as hard as she could towards the pins.

This time it made it almost to the end of the alley before it veered off to the side and added yet another gutterball to his little girl's score.

"She's getting closer." Sam whispered.

"I just wish she would hit one pin! She's trying so damn hard. Kid deserves to hit something."

"But look at her! She's so happy. It doesn't matter to her either way. That is a child with a healthy sense of sportsmanship. She could teach my brother and father a thing or two."

When Sam had sat down after her last turn, she'd moved close enough that her leg was pressed quite snugly against Jack's. He was pretending not to notice, but he did in fact notice it a whole hell of a lot.

"So… you have a brother. I'm learning more about you… This is good."

"I'm glad you're interested."

"I don't even know what you do for a living."

"Oh, that's boring, really." Sam waved him off and tucked her long hair behind her ear.

"Let me guess… karate instructor?"

"I'm a scientist actually."

"No way."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"I just… my gravest fears…"

"Excuse me?" Sam giggled.

"Nothing. It's just… I'm allergic to science."

"I hope you're not allergic to me."

"Well let's see." Jack placed his hand over the top of Sam's. "Nope. Doesn't seem like it." Sam gazed down at his hand on top of hers.

Suddenly something in Sam's demeanour changed. Very little altered in her outward appearance, yet strangely Jack could feel something in her pull away. He quickly removed his hand, worried he had pushed things too far.

She looked up from the where her gaze had been fixed and stared straight into Jack's eyes. He studied her face carefully, looking to understand what she was feeling.

Sam's eyes flew down to land on Jack's hand, and coupled with the look of uncertainty written on her face Jack realized Sam was concerned about the gold wedding band that sat on his finger.

He was yet to explain that he was a widower. She had no way of knowing whether or not Jack was married.

Sam smiled at him and turned her attention back to Sara, but Jack could see there was something on her mind. The uncertainty she had about the situation was written on her face. It was like he could hear her mind ticking… feel the fear that was creeping into her heart.

He needed to tell her… this practical stranger who had only been in his life for less than half a day… he needed desperately for her to know that he would never hurt her.

But as much as he wanted to, he couldn't explain right now. Not here with Sara within earshot.

She'd never been told exactly what happened to her mother. She didn't know that she'd died from complications of her birth. Both he and Mike had told her that her mother had gotten very sick when she was just a tiny baby. That's all the explanation a two, three, four year old needed, but he worried about the day she was old enough to want specifics. He feared that day both for himself and for his daughter.

Sara wandered over as the score for her second roll came up on the display screen.

"I'm gonna get a strike next time Daddy."

"I bet you will Baby."

"You're doing great Sara." Sam said, patting the little girls back.

"Your turn Daddy!" Sara said, not a dent in her enthusiasm after rolling nothing but gutterballs for three games now.

"Ah, the final round! And look who's neck and neck." Jack said, gesturing up at the score.

There was only one pin separating Jack and Sam's score, with Jack in the lead. Jack had won the first game of the night, Sam had won the second, so this would be the tie-breaker.

"Crunch time." Sam said as Sara climbed onto her lap.

Jack walked over claim the large green ball he'd been bowling with all night.

"Time to claim my victory." Jack said, before stepping into the lane. He took only a second to gather his aim before tossing it down the lane impressively.

It hit the pins forcefully and sent every pin spilling in all directions.

Both Sam and Sara clapped as yet another strike was added to Jack's score.

"And here we go… If I bowl another strike you're out of luck my lady."

"I wouldn't count your chickens." Sam said, causing Sara to giggle.

Jack tossed his last ball for the game and wondered whether or not winning was a good or bad thing in terms of how Sam would feel for him.

He was relieved when two pins remained standing at the end of the lane.

"Aww, look at that Sara. That's a funny looking strike isn't it?"

Sara nodded, and both girls started giggling as Jack stood there looking dismayed.

"Well, well, well. Looks like you have something in common with your father and brother Sam."

"Oh, if you saw the hissy fit either of them could throw over a game of Scrabble you wouldn't say that. This is nothing."

Sara jumped down from Sam's lap and Sam stood up to claim the purple bowling ball Sara had chosen for her to use. They had no purple balls in child size, so she'd insisted that Sam use it.

Sam bowled the ball expertly down the narrow passage, hitting the front pin with laser-like precision. Within half a second, all pins had scattered from where they stood.

"Nice!" Jack called from behind her.

Sam walked back to retrieve her ball and bowl her final shot for the night. As she slid her fingers into the ball to pick it up, Jack suddenly appeared beside her.

He slid his hand over the top of hers once again. Sam could feel the warmth from the contact spread throughout her entire body.

She looked up to see Jack staring at her with an intensity that was hard to bear.

"I just wanted to say… that… I loved someone a long time ago. But she's gone now." Jack paused and looked down at his wedding band. Sam's breath caught in her chest. "That and… good luck."

Sam's breathing felt laboured. She'd never known anyone like Jack.

She'd never felt anything even closely resembling what this man made her feel, and it was terrifying. Terrifying while simultaneously being the most magnificent and exhilarating thing she had ever experienced.

Sam smiled and forced her feet to move to where they needed to be.

"Win, lose or draw. This is it." Jack said as Sam brought the ball up in front of her to take aim.

She tossed the ball down the lane forcefully, not quite sure she knew what outcome she wanted.

"Well how about that Sam? Looks like we have a tie."

"I still have one more go, don't I Daddy?"

"Yes you do Munchkin." And it looks like you're up.

Sara ran over to claim her bright red bowling ball.

"I'm gonna get a strike Daddy!" She said, running towards the line before coming to a dramatic halt. Jack smiled as Sara began her aiming stategy.

Sam came to stand beside him, smiling just as much as he was at the little girls antics.

"She's so beautiful."

"I know." Jack gazed lovingly at the little girl for a moment, before turning to face the woman beside him. "So… looks like we're equals then, huh?"

"Looks like." Sam smiled.

Jack wondered if there was any way it would be okay for him to kiss her right now. He couldn't, and he knew he couldn't. His daughter was present. He didn't know how Sam felt about him. He hadn't been able to fully explain about his wife. He didn't know whether or not she was involved with someone else – he prayed not. But in spite of all those reasons he was seriously tempted to let his lips fall onto hers.

He wanted to taste her beautiful lips, which he was certain tasted just as sweet as she was.

The way she was staring back at him was making his pulse race, and he was almost certain she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Look Daddy! Sam! I got a strike!"

Neither of them heard the little girl. They were too immersed in each other.

"Daddy, look! I got a strike!" Sara turned around, excitedly pointing at the end of the lane where not one pin stood. Realizing that neither her father nor Sam were paying attention, Sara walked over to them.

She looked up curiously, wondering what they found so fascinating.

Whatever it was, was not as important as her accomplishment!

She grabbed onto Sam's coat and tugged on it.

"Look Sam! I got a strike!"

Sam slowly came out of her daze.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I got a strike!" Sara pointed desperately towards the lane, but the pins had now been replaced.

Sam stared up at the scoreboard and saw a clear 10 written next to Sara's name.

"Oh my god! Sara! You got a strike!" Sam smiled down at her, brimming with happiness and pride in the little girl.

"That's what I've been saying!" Sara shook her head. "For crying out loud!"


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

"Look Daddy! It's a Bart Simpson! We have to get tha… Oh wow! Look! Look! Look at that big bouncy ball! It has sparkles in it! Try to get that Daddy!"

Sara O'Neill was so excited she practically had her nose pushed up against the glass of the claw machine.

Jack once again reminded himself that allowing his five year old to drink a half gallon of cola on bowling nights was possibly not the best idea. His usually calm and placid little girl would probably be bouncing off the walls until midnight.

"Sara, you're going to have to make up your mind on what you want – not that I'm making any promises. No one ever wins on these things."

Jack did like the look of that Bart Simpson - he could add it to his collection.

"Where's that fighting spirit Colonel?" Sam asked pointedly.

Jack took his attentions away from the machine and aimed them at the beautiful scientist to his left.

"What makes you think I'm a Colonel?" Jack asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Just a hunch." Sam shrugged, her hair tousling around her shoulders in a way Jack found appealing. Although there didn't seem to be anything about Samantha Carter he didn't find appealing.

"Good hunch." Jack said, before curling his lips around the straw of his slushie.

Sam wondered if he'd share it with her if she asked – not that she was in the least bit thirsty.

"You're too impressive to be a Major and you're too young to be a General."

Jack felt a slight tingle at her describing him as 'young', not to mention the 'impressive' part of her statement.

"That! That! I want that Daddy! It's a fairy!" Sara squeaked with excitement.

Sam walked around the machine to meet Sara on the opposite side. She leant down to her level to see what had caught the little girl's attention.

"I think that's an angel Sara." Sam smiled at the little girl.

"What's the difference?" Jack asked.

"I don't think fairies have halos." Sam said.

"Are you sure?"

"Sorry, not really something my professors spent a lot of time lecturing on in my advanced physics classes."

Jack almost choked on his drink.

"Advanced physics?" He blurted. "Well this is just getting worse and worse."

Sam giggled and shook her head slightly.

"Sorry. I thought the glasses would have tipped you off right away."

"Well the Chuck Norris karate skills threw me a little."

"Can you get the angel Daddy?" Sara asked, her eyes transfixed on the wooden doll.

"I can try, but I don't like my chances. Looks like it's tucked under that penguin."

Jack pulled the lever each and every way in an effort to manoeuvre the claw into the right position. He pressed the button and the claw reached down to gently grasp at what lay beneath it. For a moment it appeared to have caught the penguin by mistake, but it retuned to its original position, no toy within its clutches.

"That was pretty close!" Sam tried to encourage Jack in his endeavours. "You bumped that penguin out of the way a little, it may actually be reachable now."

"Try again Daddy!" Sara said cheerfully.

"I think it's Sam's turn. I have a feeling she'll have better luck than me." Jack said, stepping away from the machine and gesturing Sam towards the control panel.

"What makes you say that?" Sam asked, a little nervous at the prospect of letting Sara down.

"This is just like science! I am allergic to technology remember? You're a scientist – technology loves you."

"It's okay if you can't get it Sam. It's good to try." Said Sara, ever the optimist.

"Thank you Sara, that's very true." Sam said, patting the little girl on the shoulder.

"Have at it." Jack said, waving at the machine.

Sam knew that for the most part, these games were rigged for failure. The toys in these machines were usually too heavy and awkwardly shaped for the retraction device to even manoeuvre, let alone carry. But Sam also recognised that the wooden doll was one of the smallest toys in the cage. Which was a curse for precision, but it did afford some chance that obtaining the prize was actually possible.

"Here goes."

Very similar to Jack, Sam moved the controls back and forth in order to obtain a strategic position. Not so similarly to Jack, she spent a good few minutes trying to calculate whether or not she had found the correct spot.

Jack and Sara waited patiently, not wanting to interrupt someone who was clearly investing a lot more effort into winning a cheap toy than was called for.

"Sara, push the red button!" Sam called.

As quickly as she was told, Sara hurried around to stand beside Sam and press the retrieve button.

"You did it Sara!" Sam said proudly.

Jack could swear he heard a hint of relief in her voice. Sam had really tried her hardest to make his daughter happy - even handing her the credit and making it her victory.

Sam reached into the tray that sat beneath the arcade game's controls. Her hand wrapped around the small, wooden toy and she pulled it out for Sara to see.

Sam had to smile at the little girl standing to the side, clearly doing everything she could to restrain herself from asking for the prize. She could see the glimmer or desire flickering in her bright brown eyes. She clung to her father's pants leg in order to contain her excitement.

"Here you go Sara." Sam said, kneeling on the red carpet of the arcade floor and holding out the doll for the girl to take.

Sara smiled gratefully, and to her credit, managed not to snatch it away. Her little fingers slid around the ornament gently, and for a moment she relaxed her hand to lie within Sam's warm palm.

She looked from angel up to meet Sam's eyes, and Sam felt something inside her melt. She knew in this moment, that she loved this little girl.

This child may not be hers, or even truly known to her, but regardless… inexplicably… she loved her.

"Thank you Sam." Sara said sweetly, raising her arms out for a hug.

Sam folded the small girl into her arms and Sara snuggled into her neck. Tears prickled the corners of Sam's eyes, and she had to demand herself not to cry.

Jack O'Neill was man who liked to keep his cards close to his chest. He didn't ask, he didn't tell. But in this moment, as he bore witness to his child experiencing what it was to have a mother for the first time in her short life, he was severely tempted to tell this woman that he was desperately in love with her, get down on his knees, and request that she stay with him for all eternity.

LIGHT UP

"Are you sure you want to park on the street?" Jack called over to Sam as he lifted Sara out of his car.

"Yeah, it's fine. Unless this is a bad neighbourhood?" Sam yelled back, as she turned the key in the car door.

"You may have to watch out for the retired couple who live a few doors up – I don't trust them or their ceramic ducks!" Jack quipped.

"I think I'll take my chances." Sam giggled as she made her way towards the driveway of their quaint looking home.

"Alright! But I'm telling you they're trouble."

Sara ran up the front path to the porch steps "Sara slow down! The ground is slippery!" Jack called, as she bounded up the stairs as fast as she could.

"Come on Sam! I want to show you all my things!" Sam could see Sara's silhouette waving her forward in the dim porch light. Her other hand still clung to the small toy angel.

Jack and Sam walked arm to arm as they moved towards the house to join her. Jack wondered if he could get away with taking her hand in the dark, but since she had them safely tucked away in her coat pockets, that decision was mostly made for him. Although since _her_ coat pockets were in reality _his_ coat pockets, he wasn't completely disappointed.

As they approached the front steps, Sam stared up at the blue, double story house. It looked just like every other house on the street – the American dream home. But perhaps Samantha Carter's ideals differed slightly from the average American.

Due to a Little House on the Prairie obsession she had suffered from the ages of six through to nine, Sam had always dreamed of living in a country home.

The walls would be painted a pale shade of yellow and sunflowers would sit in the kitchen window. Her version of a dream home would have polished wooden floorboards and would be filled with antique furniture.

Sam had just purchased the only home that appealed to her in the entire district, and although it fell short of her ideals, she did enjoy the stone fireplace and woodsy feel it had about it.

Being stuck inside covert government laboratories and uninviting military bases her entire life, she had a deep longing to be outdoors and to explore nature whenever she had the opportunity.

She hoped that in her twilight years - if she was lucky enough to experience them - she would be able to retire to the country. Somewhere fresh and open, where she could let her mind run free without feeling suffocated by the walls that usually surrounded her. Maybe even a farm filled with all the animals she'd never been able to own as a child, which was largely due to her father's obligations.

Although he tried to hide it, Sam could see Jack trembling as he turned the key in the front door. The air that had been uncomfortably chilled during the daylight hours had now turned inhospitably cold. Sam felt a twinge of guilt as she realised she still had not returned his coat.

While he was wearing a black leather jacket - which she had to admit, made him look devastatingly sexy - she doubted it provided as much warmth as the coat he had so chivalrously given her.

Jack swung the front door open and Sara dashed inside as quickly as she could.

"I'm sorry; I should have given your jacket back already." Sam said as she stepped inside.

"Are you kidding? You wish to become a Popsicle?" Jack asked as he held the door open for her.

"No. I just meant…" Sam had a chance to take in her surroundings. "Oh my god."

"What?" Jack asked, glancing around, fearing she'd seen something offensive.

"Nothing. It's just… It's beautiful."

Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

"Believe me, it isn't always this clean. Sara can transform this place into a disaster area within minutes… I've timed her!"

"Is that?... Is that a wood burn stove?" Sam gaped.

"Ah! Yes it is. Strictly ornamental though unfortunately. Although we have one up at our cabin in Minnesota, and believe me, chopping wood gets old pretty quick – especially in winter. Really makes you appreciate the technological marvel that is the microwave."

"You have a cabin?" Sam asked.

"Yes. It belonged to my grandfather. My favourite place in the world to be." Jack said, removing his jacket and hanging it on the coat rack.

"Sounds wonderful." Said Sam. She followed Jack's lead and began unbuttoning his coat from her body. Jack had to force himself to look away.

"It is. You should join us some time."

Despite stern warnings towards himself to be good, Jack moved behind Sam to help her remove his coat.

Sam shivered at the feel of him brushing up against her, and she hoped he hadn't noticed the effect his proximity had on her.

"There's no fish there though!" Sara said, sitting on the antique wooden bench that was adorned with a variety of different styled cushions. She kicked off her purple rainboots onto the kitchen floor. "Daddy says there is, but I don't believe him!"

She said as she started pulling off her socks.

"There most certainly are fish there. They are just too clever to be caught! Go take those up to your room and get ready for bed Munchkin." Jack said pointing at the socks Sara had just thrown onto the wooden floorboards.

"Yes Daddy." Sara said. "Come on Sam! I want to show you my ballet dress!"

Sara grabbed Sam's hand and began pulling her toward the kitchen door - her bare feet giving her all the traction she needed.

"Don't forget to brush your teeth!" Jack called as they disappeared through the doorway.

Jack smiled after them as he heard their voices trail up the stairs that lead to Sara's bedroom.

His eyes shifted slowly from the doorway over to the picture of Charlie that sat on the kitchen windowsill under a vase of faux sunflowers.

He knew soon Sam would find out about his son, there was no way she wouldn't ask when Sara dragged her into his room to read her a bedtime story – which was the reason Sam had agreed to come home with them.

Deep down he hoped that wasn't the only reason.

LIGHT UP

"These are my favourite ballet shoes! The other ones hurt my feet if I wear them too much, but these ones are really good." Sara said, pulling out yet another pair of shoes from her closet and handing them to Sam, who had taken to sitting on her bedroom floor after she realised Sara wasn't going to let her go anytime soon.

Not that she had any desire to go. Witnessing the enthusiasm and happiness Sara felt for anything glittery or remotely connected to princesses was refreshing to Sam.

She'd spent the majority of her life surrounded by scientists. And while she was a scientist herself, she had to admit – scientists were just about the most boring and lifeless people that walked the face of the Earth. Sara painted a very pleasant contrast to the people that she usually encountered. The constant energy and happiness she emitted was almost addictive, and in the back of her mind, Sam wondered how she could go on without having this child in her life.

"And look! Look at my new party dress! My grandpa bought it for me and it's my new favourite! Even if it isn't purple! Purple is my favourite colour! But this has gold on it, and I like gold too!" Sara held out a gorgeous cream coloured party dress. The bottom was frilled with organza and adorned with gold sequins. "I'm wearing it to Katie's party! She's going to turn five! But I'm already five, so I'm older than her!"

Sam wondered if she should perhaps mention to Jack that cola contained a lot of sugar and caffeine and perhaps it wasn't the best idea to let Sara drink so much in the evening. "She's having her party at McDonalds! I like the Happy Meals they have, they are way better than the.-"

"Hey." Jack called from the doorway.

He'd been watching them for a minute or two. For some reason he couldn't bring himself to interrupt.

Sara's regular bedtime had been over an hour and a half ago and Jack knew he was stalling so Sam could stay longer.

He also knew he didn't want to face Sam's reaction to his deceased child.

Jack usually kept people at a distance, and that meant he rarely had to face any questions about what happened to Charlie. Whenever someone did happen to enquire about his son, they rarely pushed him for the details surrounding his death. Strangers tended to back away from such a sensitive subject. But somehow Jack knew that he'd have to tell her. Maybe she wouldn't ask, but he'd still have to tell her.

He'd have to face her horror… her undeserved sympathy… her disgust… whatever it was she was going to feel.

"Hi Daddy!" Sara said happily.

"Looks like you two are having quite the party up here." Jack glanced around the room. There seemed to be very little carpet visible amongst the shoes, dresses, tiaras and toys that covered the floor.

"She's a little excited." Sam said, smiling over at him as he casually leaned against the doorframe.

"I see you still haven't changed into your pajamas young lady." Jack tried to sound stern, but Sam could tell he wasn't in the least bit invested in it. She wondered if even Sara would be fooled.

"I was just about to!" Sara jumped into action, running back into her closet to return the party dress she held in her hand.

"Scoot!" Jack said, clapping his hands and wandering into the room.

Sara ran over to her dressing table which had purple drawer knobs that where shaped like crowns. She pulled open the bottom draw and rifled through the neatly folded clothes inside. After she retrieved what appeared to be a white night gown, she shut the drawer, leaving the clothes considerably less neat than they had been.

"I'll be right back Sam! I just have to brush my teeth!" Sara said, running out of the room. "Don't go anywhere!"

Jack and Sam had just a moment to exchange smiles before Sara came dashing back through the doorway. She leapt over the myriad of objects which adorned the floor with surprising efficiency before she threw herself onto the bed at full speed. She reached across the floral comforter to grasp the wooden angel she had momentarily forgotten about.

As quickly as she had appeared, she flew back out of the room.

"I almost forgot it!" She called as she ran down the hall towards the bathroom.

"I think she has a new favourite toy." Jack said, as Sam climbed to her feet.

Truthfully, just seeing her stand as if she was ready to leave made Jack's stomach tense.

It was ridiculous to want or expect her to stay forever… _but a guy couldn't help but wish._

"I'm glad I could get it for her. She's a very special little girl." Sam said softly.

She didn't quite know how to express the depth of feelings she already had for his daughter… and for him. She couldn't even explain it to herself.

"I know." Jack smiled, glancing out the doorway. "Don't know where she came from."

Sam waited until he turned back to look at her before she responded.

"You." She said, trying to give that one word as much gravity as she could.

The way she looked at him made Jack's heart seize in his chest. He wondered whether or not what he was sensing was just wishful thinking.

"She's all her mother." Jack said, trying to distract himself from the rush of desire he felt for Sam.

"She must be an amazing woman then." Sam said. There was nothing in her tone that suggested she was being anything but sincere.

Jack turned towards the door, and for a moment Sam thought he was going to leave, but instead he closed the door and locked it behind him.

If Pete had locked himself in a room with her, Sam would feel as if she were being trapped. There'd be warning bells in her head screaming at her to get out, even if she knew he had no intention of harming her.

But although she'd only known Jack for half a day, and she was in his home, and no one knew of her whereabouts, there wasn't a glimmer of doubt as to whether this mans intentions were honourable. On the contrary, she couldn't remember a time when she'd felt so safe.

Jack turned around and leant his back against the door, shoving his hands deep in his pockets and staring down at the floor.

"She was." He answered after a moment.

Sam didn't say anything in response; she could see he was gathering his will to go on.

"She… she died from complications of Sara's birth. She haemorrhaged, lost too much blood, her blood pressure dropped, then her heart stopped." Sam felt her stomach turn. As hard as he tried to mask it, Sam could hear the grief in his voice. "She was gone, just like that." Jack slowly looked up at the woman standing across the room from him. She was staring at him with sorrow etched into her bright blue eyes. "Didn't know what to do with myself. Didn't know how to function." Jack shrugged. "And for a while I didn't. I just drank, and slept, and drank some more. Then one night… I woke up with a massive hangover - usually what happens when you down an entire bottle of whisky. I got up to get something to put me out again. But on my way downstairs Sara started crying. She was about five weeks old and I had never even held her. I walked into this room, and she was laying in her crib, which was just here where her bed is." Jack said, gesturing at the cherry-oak bed that sat a few feet away. "I didn't know what to do. It had been so long since Charlie was a baby, and I was scared to pick her up. She was so small. I put my hand on her belly, because I remembered that Charlie liked that, but she didn't stop. So I picked her up, and I held her, and I rocked her… " He gazed at Sam, who had tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "And she still didn't stop!" Sam smiled, and a stream of salt water rolled down both her cheeks. "It took me about twenty minutes to realise she needed a bottle, and she wasn't gonna stop until she got it… So I went down stairs and I boiled the water, and poured it into the bottle, and mixed in the formula, and tested it on my hand, and burnt myself, and cooled it, then I sat down and I fed her." He stared into Sam's eyes, hoping she'd somehow understand exactly what it was he had felt that night. "And I didn't drink after that, because she reminded me that I had something else to keep me going. And she has… every day since."

The silence was broken from a gentle squeaking sound at the door. Jack and Sam glanced down at the doorknob, which was twisting back and forth.

"Daddy! I can't get in!" Came Sara's tiny voice from the opposite side of the door.

Jack smiled at Sam, who smiled back and quickly wiped the tears away from her face. Jack stepped away from the door and unlocked it.

Sara slowly opened the door and peeked her head in. She stared up at her father, looking very unimpressed.

"You locked me out!" She demanded.

"It wasn't me!" He threw his hands up in the air to declare his innocence. "It was her!" Jack pointed a finger over at Sam.

Sara stomped her purple, bunny-slipper foot on the ground and shook her head.

"I know you want to have Sam Daddy, but you can't until she reads me a story!"


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

All Jack could manage to respond with was a barely audible "ahem", before tentatively looking over at Sam to gauge her reaction.

She had turned away from him, and seemed to be biting her thumb in an effort to hide her amusement. She was staring down at the floor, and Jack could see her shoulders shaking slightly.

_Clearly she was trying not to laugh._

Jack took that as a positive sign she wasn't mortified by Sara's suggestion.

Or was it the idea of being with an old guy like him that she found funny?

_Perhaps he was deluding himself._

Sara ran over to her gloss white shelf, which was not surprisingly adorned with castle-shaped bookends. It was stacked with dozens of colourful picture books of all shapes and sizes.

"Do you like this one Sam?" Sara asked, holding up a copy of Goodnight Moon which certainly looked like it had seen better days.

Sam grinned at the little girl, who looked so precious in her bunny slippers and long white night gown. The little pink bow that clipped her hair away from her face only added to her sweetness.

"I don't think there's anyone in the world who doesn't love that story." Sam said, wandering over to kneel beside the little girl and investigate the book collection with her.

"Really?" Sara asked excitedly.

"Yes. I know when I was a little girl I was one of my favourites." Sam said, taking the book from her and flipping through the vaguely familiar pages.

"Mine too!" Sara squeaked, clearly thrilled that Sam shared her love for one of her most beloved stories.

"I always loved anything that had to do with the moon and the stars. The same way you love princesses. I had stars and moons and planets and toy space shuttles in my room. I used to draw pictures of me flying in outer space because I wanted to go there so badly." Sam explained, smiling at the memories of her very early geekiness.

"That's just like Charlie's room!" Sara said, her face lighting up with excitement. "Come on!" Sara said, taking Sam's hand and pulling her to her feet.

As Sara led her out of the bedroom, Sam only had a second to glimpse Jack's face.

There was something written there that looked like guilt… remorse… fear… she wasn't sure. He looked away the moment he met her eyes, almost as if he were ashamed of something.

Sara pulled her past the bathroom and down to the end of the hall, straight into what appeared to be a little boy's room. It was hard to tell, as the only light in the room was coming in through the window and the dim light behind them.

"The lamp is here Sam!" Sara said, leading her over to a child's study desk. Sam flicked it on and peered around her.

Sara wasn't kidding when she said it resembled her childhood bedroom. There was even a poster of different sorts of crystals on the wall - very much like the one that had hung on her bedroom door when she was seven.

Sara jumped onto the bed that sat in the middle of the room. She was clutching the crumpled book in one hand and the angel in the other.

"Is it just like your room Sam?" Sara asked, hopefully.

"Very much so." Sam answered as she continued to examine her surroundings.

Apart from the baseball memorabilia it was strikingly similar. Whoever Charlie was, he clearly enjoyed science. There was even a toy microscope that sat on his bedside table.

When Sam was eight years old she had begged her mother to buy her a real microscope, rather than the cheap, fake one she'd received in a child's science kit. When her wish was granted on her ninth birthday, she'd spent countless hours fiddling with it. Her summer was enjoyed hunting for bugs, and examining them, and categorized them by species and genus.

Sam smiled at the empty ant farm that sat on the wooden desk in front of her.

There was even a toy airplane that hung from the roof that looked very much like the one her father had brought for her.

Next to one of his baseball trophies, Sam spotted a second place award for a science fair.

Clearly she would like Charlie if she were to meet him.

But it seemed like the longer she spent in this room, the greater her unease grew.

_If this boy was Jack's son, then where was he? And why hadn't either of them mentioned him until now?_

She found herself hoping that he was with his grandfather somewhere. The boy's absence was strangely disturbing, and Sam could feel the dread building within her.

There was a thought creeping up in the back of her mind that she was trying desperately to push away.

The boy in the photo, sitting on the chest of drawers, looked very much like Sara. His hair was a little lighter, and his eyes weren't the deep brown Sara's and Jack's were, but there was definitely a resemblance.

Sam swallowed and tried to distract herself from the sinking feeling in her gut.

She couldn't imagine little Sara burying her brother, or Jack grieving for a child. The way he loved Sara… the thought of what it would do to the man if he was ever to lose his child…

It would destroy him… she was sure of it.

LIGHT UP

Jack stood outside Sara's room and stared down the hall at Charlie's door. He was trying to bring himself to face her.

He didn't want to see her reaction. He didn't want to be reminded he was gone and that it was his fault… his little boy who once toddled across these floors with tiny feet and filled the house with noise and laughter the way Sara did.

If he could, he would just stay here. He'd stay here until Sara was asleep, and wait until Sam came back out.

_He could play the denial card and pretend she didn't know…_

Then he wouldn't have to face it.

But he couldn't do that.

If he did that, he'd be pushing her away. As scared as he was to face his past, he was even more afraid of losing Sam.

He wasn't sure how a woman he'd known for half a day had managed to bury herself so deep within his heart. But she was there now, and he wasn't in the least bit sorry about it.

Jack forced his feet to move forward. He ignored the pounding in his chest, and fear tearing through him. As he approached the door, he swallowed hard, and reminded himself to breathe.

He pushed the door open slightly to see Sam standing there – she was holding Charlie's baseball and glove.

A year ago, when Mike had attempted to touch it Sara had gotten incredibly distressed. Jack had been deployed at the time, and he was grateful he wasn't here to witness it. His quiet little angel had cried for hours because it had been moved. When Mike finally got her to calm down, she'd said "Charlie is going to be mad now and he won't come back". Mike insisted Jack needed to talk to her, to explain to her that Charlie was never coming home… but he never could bring himself to have that conversation.

He was afraid to hear those words coming out of his mouth.

Jack pushed the door a little wider, curious as to where Sara was.

"That's my brothers. He loved baseball just like Daddy does. Look at all his trophies!" Sara called from the bed. She was looking at the toy angel in her hand.

"This is your brother?" Sam asked, placing the glove and ball back where they had been and picking up Charlie's photo.

"Yes." Sara said quietly, pulling back the covers and sliding her legs underneath them. "Can you tuck me in?" Sara asked.

Sam gently placed the photo back on the drawers and turned around to Sara.

"Of course." Sam answered, walking slowly over to the bed. Not having had any practice at tucking a child in, Sam wasn't exactly sure what it entailed. "What do I do?"

Sara flopped back onto the dark blue pillow behind her and giggled.

"You put the blankets under the thing so they are tight." She said, gesturing to the mattress.

"Oh, okay." Sam said, feeling a little dim at having to have something so obvious explained to her by a five year old.

Sam pulled the blankets up to Sara's neck and began tucking them underneath the mattress.

"Do you like the room Sam?" Sara asked, gazing up at her.

"Yes I do. It's perfect."

"You know I bet you could have it. I think Charlie would like you to have it."

Sam took a deep breath; she had no idea if she should ask, or even if she wanted to know.

"But won't he want it for himself?" Sam asked, waiting with baited breath for her response.

"No. He would like you, because you're a scientist and a princess." Sara said sweetly.

Sam knelt beside the bed, and smiled at the little girl. She brushed Sara's fringe across her forehead gently. "Besides, Charlie's not coming home… he's staying with Mommy."

Sam felt her heart sink. She felt the deepest kind of heartache for the little girl and for her father.

Despite her efforts to contain her emotions, Sam's eyes welled with tears and she had to restrain herself from pulling the little girl into her arms.

It would probably have been more to comfort herself than Sara, who was staring up at her peacefully.

"Don't cry Sam." Sara said gently, reaching up her little hand to brush away Sam's tears. "Daddy's still here, and as long as Daddy is here everything will be okay."

"Yeah?" Sam asked, slightly dazed by the onslaught of emotions.

Sara nodded her head up and down, smiling.

Sam wondered how someone so small could be so strong.

Sam knew what it felt like to lose a mother, and she had always considered herself too young to have experienced that. But this little girl had barely taken her first breath before hers was snatched away from her.

Then to have lost her big brother… her protector.

_Jack had lost his wife… then his son…_

"You don't have to read me a story if you're too sad. You can just go to sleep here if you want." Sara said, wriggling to the side to make room for Sam. "I can read you the story." Sara undid all of Sam's tucking efforts in an instant, pushing the covers down out of the way and grabbing onto Goodnight Moon. She tucked the toy angel down at her side so she would have two hands to hold the book open. "Come on Sam, lay down." Sara said, almost sounding like a mother herself.

Sam smiled at the girl in amazement and positioned herself at Sara's side. There was just enough room at her side for Sam not to roll off the bed. She put her head on the pillow next to Sara's as she opened the book.

"Mind if I listen?" Jack asked, standing safely behind the door – almost as if he was trying to shield himself with it.

"Come on Daddy! You need to go to sleep too! You've had a big day!"

Sam giggled at the little girls tone and wondered if adults sounded as condescending when they said that to their children.

"She's right." Jack said, wandering over to the bed where the two most beautiful girls in the world lay. Sam was smiling at him, but Jack could see she was masking some powerful emotions, although he couldn't read exactly what they were.

"Come on Daddy! There's plenty of room." Sara said, patting the narrow space beside her.

Apparently he and Sara had different definitions of the word 'plenty'.

"Shouldn't have had that extra donut this morning." Jack said, sucking in his breath in an effort to appear thinner.

Sam and Sara chuckled as Jack balanced himself in a precarious position on the bed. One slight lean and he'd go tumbling onto the ground and he doubted Sam was in any better a position.

"Are you ready Daddy?" Sara asked, turning to her right.

"Yes." Jack said, placing his fingertip on her nose as he answered.

"Are you ready Sam?" Sara asked, spinning around to her left.

"Yes." Sam smiled down at her.

"Okay." Sara said, clearing her throat in an official manner before she began reading. "In the great green room there was a telephone. And a red balloon. And a picture of the cow jumping over the moon."

"How's a cow supposed to jump that high?" Jack asked doubtingly.

"Daddy! Don't interrupt!" Sara chided.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm just saying…"

Sam laughed.

"And there were three little bears sitting on chairs. And two little kittens, and a pair of mittens. And a little toy house, and a young mouse. And a comb and a brush, and a bowl full of mash."

"Mush" Jack corrected.

"Mush." Said Sara. "And a quiet old lady who was whispering, "Hush." Goodnight, room. Goodnight, moon. Goodnight, cow jumping over the moon. Goodnight, light and the red balloon. Goodnight, bears. Goodnight, chairs. Goodnight, kittens. Goodnight, mittens. Goodnight, clocks. Goodnight, socks. Goodnight, little house. Goodnight, mouse. Goodnight, comb. Goodnight, brush. Goodnight, nobody. Goodnight, mush. Goodnight to the old lady whispering, "Hush." Goodnight, stars. Goodnight, air. Goodnight, noises everywhere."

Sara tossed the book to her feet sleepily, and Sam understood how the book got into the less than stellar condition it was in.

Sara's eyelids looked heavy, and likely to fall shut at any moment. Sam could tell she was fighting to keep them open as her little hand felt around at her side in search of something.

She slid her hand down Sam's arm until she found the object of desire, and she lifted Sam's hand from her side up onto her chest. Sam could feel the gentle rise and fall of Sara's breathing beneath her hand.

She relaxed for a moment and Sam wondered if she had already fallen asleep. But a second later her eyelids fluttered open and she looked straight into Sam's eyes.

"Goodnight Sam. I love you." She whispered sleepily.

Sam's heart broke into pieces from the overflow of emotion she felt. She had never had a child tell her they loved her. She was terrified and overjoyed, and very confused about how she should respond.

It felt natural to say 'I love you too', and she wouldn't have been lying if she said it, but with her father, whom she'd known for only hours, lying inches away she didn't know if that was overstepping the boundaries.

Sam didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything. She just smiled and leant over and kissed the little girl on the forehead.

Sara smiled back and closed her eyes again. She reached to her other side and grabbed her father's hand, tugging it away from his body.

Jack didn't resist – even though he rarely put her to bed, he knew she liked the weight of his hand on her chest. It may not have worked to settle her when she was five weeks old, but his instincts about his child had been right. He didn't know if it was the weight, the warmth, or the comfort of human contact… of knowing someone was with her… but it usually put her to sleep within minutes.

He slid his hand over the top of Sam's, and Sara placed both of her hands on top of theirs, hugging them tightly against her chest.

Just as Jack predicted, within a minute Sara's breathing became deep and steady, signalling she had lost consciousness.

He didn't know whether or not he should remove his hand from on top of Sam's now that there was no reason to keep it there. But since she wasn't moving he decided he wasn't going to either.

"I'm sorry we usurped your day like this." Jack apologized in a hushed tone.

"Yeah, I'm sure the empty house full of boxes really misses me." Sam said, rolling her eyes.

"I wouldn't be surprised."

Sam smiled at him, and thoughtlessly Jack began stroking his thumb against the back of her hand.

"Does this mean you're staying the night?" He asked, hoping beyond hope she wasn't planning on going anywhere.

"If I'm welcome."

Jack's first thought was to say 'You'll be lucky if I let you leave'. But with her ex boyfriend apparently stalking her to another town, he thought better of it.

"Couldn't think of anyone I'd rather share a bed with."

Sam immediately bit her lower lip in an effort not to smile.

_Yeah Jack, that was much, much better. Moron._

LIGHT UP

Sam knew something was wrong even before she opened her eyes. Fear penetrated her heart as she regained consciousness, almost as if she were waking up from a terrible nightmare.

She could feel a shuttering underneath her hand and her eyes flew open in panic. It took a second for her eyes to focus on the figure next to her. The sound Sara was making was one of the most terrible things she had ever heard.

"Jack." Sam whispered in panic. When he didn't respond she reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly. "Jack!"

"Huh?!" Jack shot up a few inches above the pillow.

"There's something wrong with Sara." Sam said urgently.

Sara was squirming and whimpering in her sleep.

Sam had never known the pain of hearing a child she loved crying.

"She's having a nightmare." Jack said soberly. His calm demeanour made Sam feel a little less frightened. If Sara were really in trouble, Jack would be frantic.

Sam watched as he brought his hand up to brush aside the sweaty hair from her forehead. He leant over and kissed the little girl on top of her hair.

"Shhh. It's okay Baby, I'm here." Jack whispered into her ear. He placed his hand back on her chest to still her, and after a few moments her body relaxed, and she resumed the deep, steady breathing of a peaceful sleep.

Once he was sure his daughter was okay, he allowed himself the luxury of looking at Sam.

She looked shell-shocked.

Jack felt love permeate every cell in his body at witnessing her concern for his child.

"She has these nightmares sometimes." Jack said, his voice hushed so as not to disturb the little girl lying between them. "I think they may be about her brother, but she never will say. When we ask she clams up, almost like she's afraid. She's such a happy little thing all the time, so it seems better not to push it." Sam looked at him sadly. "They had been gone for a couple of months, and I started to think we were in the clear. But about a month ago I got knocked down by something. I had to stay in hospital, and it was two weeks before I came home."

"Oh god, are you okay?" Sam asked, terrified by the idea that Jack might leave Sara too.

_Or was she afraid of Jack leaving her?_

"Yeah, it was just some foreign bug, so I had to stay in quarantine for a little while. But the nightmares have been happening every night since I got back."

"You think your being gone triggered them?"

"I think so." He said remorsefully. "I try to be here when I say I'm going to be here, but with my job it's just impossible to know. I wish I could just walk away from it all… pack our bags and head to Minnesota for the rest of our lives… but she's the reason I can't. I have to make sure she's safe. She's all I have left."

"You do what you do to protect her." Sam stated.

"Yes."

Sam could see the regret in his eyes at having to leave her.

"She told me that you were gone because you had to make sure all the boys and girls in the world were safe – so she does understand."

"It doesn't make it any easier on her."

"I'm so, so sorry for all you've lost." Sam said, tenderly taking his hand in her own. "I'm sorry about your son."

Sam gazed at him with so much empathy in her eyes that it repulsed him.

_He didn't deserve her sympathy. He deserved her hatred, and her disgust. _

Jack pulled his hand away and Sam immediately felt the loss. She knew she'd said something wrong – she saw something flash in his eyes before he looked away.

He moved gently off the bed so as not to disturb Sara, but as soon as he reached his feet he fled the room as quickly as possible.

Sam didn't know what to do. She was scared to leave the little girl alone, for fear another nightmare might visit while she was alone.

But she also felt that Jack needed her right now. She had only known him half a day, but somehow she knew he was afraid… that he was running from something.

She just hoped it wasn't from her.


	5. Chapter 5

The light from Jack's room filtered down the hall, casting shadows across the walls. The glow was soft and dim, and Sam supposed it came from a bedside lamp rather than the harsh radiance of an overhead light.

It appeared warm and inviting, and yet part of Sam felt she should turn around and leave – that she wouldn't be welcomed should she knock on that door.

Another part of her said that the man behind that door needed her, or at least needed _something_. _Comfort. Someone to listen. Someone to yell and scream at…_ _Something._

Sam took a deep breath before forcing herself to knock on the door. Even trying as she was, she barely managed an audible tap.

Sam waited for a response. Through the narrow opening of the door she could see the head of a bed, and a bedside table, which hosted a variety of books and a Homer Simpson doll.

Sam smiled to herself.

Not sure if Jack heard her or even if he was actually in the room she decided to address him directly.

"Jack?" Sam called, pushing the door open a fraction.

Moving the door that extra inch was all it took for her to spot him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking out at the murky sky outside the window. There were no stars out tonight, only a heavy blanket of soft-gray clouds. "Mind if I come in?" She asked, her nervousness evident in her voice.

Jack didn't answer, although Sam was certain this time he must have heard her.

Greeted with silence, Sam suddenly felt like she was intruding upon his space. She was a guest in his house, and as much as she felt like she knew him, and always had, the reality was she didn't. What she felt wasn't logical, and as a woman who had clung to logic and reason all her life she wasn't about to relinquish control to her emotions. "I'm sorry, I should go…" She said, turning to leave.

"Sam?" Jack called, not changing his stature.

"Yeah?" She answered gently.

"Stay."

Sam didn't understand the elation in her heart at having been invited in. Maybe it was because it was so symbolic of him letting her into his life.

"Okay." Sam stepped into the room tentatively. She wasn't sure what it was she should do. She didn't want to sit beside him for fear he might move away again. She decided it was best to stand back and not make him face her if he didn't want to. "Are you alright?"

Jack remained quiet for a moment, and Sam wondered whether or not he was going to respond.

She stood there patiently… not wishing to push him.

"When my wife died, it happened so quickly." Jack said, his eyes falling towards the ground. "One minute she was holding the baby and smiling, the next they were taking her away and pushing me out of the room, and that was it. I never got to speak to her again."

The vice on Sam's heart wrung tighter. She couldn't fathom that kind of loss, and knowing that pain was inflicted on a man who already meant the world to her… she didn't know if there was anything she could possibly say to make him feel better.

"I'm so sorry." She gasped, tears prickling the corners of her eyes.

"But if I had, I know what she would have said... The only thing she would have cared about is the kids. Charlie and Sara would have been the only thing on her mind… She would have asked me to take care of them. She would have made me promise to keep them safe." Jack swallowed hard, shaking his head. "Instead I practically handed my kid the gun that killed him."

Sam felt like she'd taken a blow to the stomach.

"What?"

"I was thousands of miles away when it happened, but I swear I heard the shot. I knew… I knew something was wrong. I could feel that he was gone." Jack paused, and Sam sensed that he was trying to force himself to continue. "He died on the floor over there." Jack said, gesturing towards his closet. "By the time I got back, there wasn't a trace of anything, but sometimes I swear I see the blood. Not real I know, but… It's my fault he's gone."

Sam moved forward towards the bed, stepping gently so as not to disturb him. As she got closer she was able to see over his shoulder. He had a red baseball cap in his hands with a Cubs logo on it.

Sam wondered if it belonged to Charlie.

"He was always so curious… about everything. Wanted to know how everything worked. Even when he was really small… if you gave him a new toy he'd want to take it apart to see what was inside… what made it tick. If the kid wasn't going to play for the Cubs I reckon he would have worked for NASA. I should have known… I should have known he'd find it… Want to figure it out."

Without effort or thought, Sam found herself at Jack's side. She sat gently on the bed, but was careful not to sit too close.

"He was only eight. It shouldn't happen. But it did, because of me."

Sam considered taking Jack's hand, but she felt sure he wasn't in any position to accept comfort at the moment.

"Why did you have that gun in the first place?" Her tone sounded like she was implying something, but didn't seem to be accusing him of anything.

Jack considered the question for a moment.

"I've served for a long time. I enlisted when I was a teenager. I've seen what happens when people are left without the ability to defend themselves."

"You had it here to protect them..." Sam said.

"Yeah, and look what happened." Jack said roughly, climbing to his feet and wandering towards the window. He continued to stare down at the Cubs hat in his hands.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what to say."

"There's nothing to say." Jack said gravely. "I just thought you should know."

Sam wondered why Jack thought he owed her any kind of explanation.

"Why?"

"Because I don't for one second want you to believe I deserve any of your sympathy."

Any of her _love_ was what he truly meant.

"Jack… you lost your child."

"But it was my fault! And he paid the price."

"It was an accident. A terrible one… but…" Sam looked over at the bedroom wall and spotted a picture of Jack and Charlie together – they were both wearing Cubs gear.

Sam closed her eyes, struggling to find the right words to say. She had no idea how to make this better. She knew there _was_ nothing she could do to make this better. She'd suffered losses, but nothing that could compare to the profound pain this man had had to endure.

The only true grief she'd experienced was after the death of her mother.

"When I was fourteen my mother went on a trip to visit my uncle. My father was supposed to pick her up at the airport. He was busy, his work held him up as usual… my Mom took a cab… the side of the cab was clipped by an oncoming vehicle… she died."

Jack turned around to look at Sam. For the first time in minutes he was preoccupied by something other than his own pain.

"I'm sorry." Jack said solemnly, wandering towards the bedside table and setting the hat down.

"I cried for days… weeks even." Sam said, staring at the red baseball cap. "We moved around a lot so I never really stayed anywhere long enough to make any real friends. I kept my distance from people because I knew wherever it was we lived we wouldn't stay long. My brother and I never really got along. My father was always gone. But Mom… she was my everything."

Jack stared at Sam mournfully.

"For a while I blamed my father. Even though I could see he was hurting… I just wanted to blame someone. My brother and I always resented his job. We always thought he was gone because he wanted to be. He wasn't the kind of father you are. He didn't know how to treat us as children. He spent all day following and giving orders at work. When he came home he never could switch that off. He could never just play with us the way you play with Sara. So I blamed him. I blamed him for years. But as I grew up, and I began to recognize the true complexities of the world, I realized that my father wasn't gone because he didn't love us… he was gone _because_ he loved us. He felt an overwhelming need to protect us, because he'd seen what war was like. He'd seen the dangers out there… the horrible things my fourteen year old mind could never begin to comprehend. My father loved my mother, and what happened to her was an accident. What happened to Charlie was an accident. You couldn't have known Jack."

"It's not the same thing."

"Would you trade places with Charlie if you could?"

A look of utter desolation washed across Jack's face.

"In a heartbeat."

"Exactly." Sam placed her hands on Jack's shoulders.

He stared down at the ground, although there was very little space between them to do so. Sam raised her hands and placed them gently on the sides of Jack's face.

She waited until Jack met her eyes. The repressed grief of a broken man pooled there and for a moment Sam wondered if he might cry.

"It wasn't your fault." She tried to fill the words with every drop of emotion she was feeling so that he would understand… she wanted so desperately for him to believe it… so desperately for his pain to stop.

Sam dropped her hands away from his face and slid them over his shoulders and behind his neck, moving closer to him as she did.

Jack's arms stayed limp at his side, almost as if he was afraid to touch her.

Washed away by her empathy and love Sam forgot about all the reasons getting close to this man could lead to her own heartache.

She closed the distance between them, letting herself go completely. Sam found herself instinctively nuzzling into his neck in order to comfort him.

Jack held himself back and he was too confused to know why. It had been so long since he'd held a woman close to him, the intimacy of it felt overwhelming.

He couldn't recall ever feeling so much longing that it completely paralysed him.

The feel of her warmth washing over his body set his blood on fire. He knew touching her would be like jumping off a cliff - there'd be no way of stopping himself from losing himself completely.

She'd had him from the moment he first saw her and having her this close was like the sweetest kind of torture.

He wanted her so badly that he felt almost certain that if he reached out to touch her she would disappear. She'd be gone either right away or the next morning. He wasn't sure how he'd go on without the bliss this woman had infused into his heart. She seemed like some paradise island where he could visit, but he knew he couldn't stay.

Just having her body pressed against his seemed like some implausible dream.

Sam moved her head closer into him, clinging to him desperately. The warmth of her breath brushed around his neck and Jack couldn't find the will to hold back anymore.

He reached out slowly, his hands first finding her hips then making their way around to her lower back.

He pulled her closer, and held her for the first time. She felt like heaven in his arms. Jack wanted nothing more than to lay her down on his bed and make love to her. It seemed like the only way of expressing the insurmountable passion she stirred inside him.

But he had no idea what it was she was feeling.

_Maybe she just saw herself as comforting a friend? Would a friend cling to him the way she was? Would a friend breathe so heavily against his skin and look at him with so much emotion in her eyes?_

He was afraid to say anything, for fear of losing her touch. But he knew if he held her much longer he wouldn't be able to stop himself from kissing her.

If that wasn't what she wanted… it wasn't what he wanted.

What he wanted was for her to stay… as close to him and as long as possible.

"Sam?"

"Mmm?" She mumbled into his neck. The vibration sent Jack's already pounding heartbeat into overdrive. He was certain she'd be able to hear it. His pulse was thundering in his ears and his breathing was becoming laboured.

Jack felt stunned and unable to move. Her effect on him was overwhelming his senses and making it impossible to think.

When Jack didn't say anymore Sam pulled away slightly – much to Jack's dismay. Even the slight increase in distance drove a fresh wave of desire through him to bring her closer.

Sam moved back just inches and looked up at Jack's face.

He wasn't looking at her. He was afraid to.

He was afraid she'd see too much… afraid she'd see how desperate he was. He didn't want to risk scaring her away, because what he was feeling was sure as hell scaring him.

"Are you okay?" Her soft voice was laced with concern, and it was just enough to lure him in. Jack looked down into her bright shimmering blue eyes, which looked darker than they had a few moments ago. As he gazed at her he noticed that her rapid breathing mimicked his own and Jack wondered if he was witnessing a mutual longing.

Her dark eyes drew him in and with complete absence of rational thought, or any thought whatsoever, he brought his lips down to meet hers.

Lost in wave of euphoria he brushed and tasted her lips with a tenderness and delicacy that Sam had never experienced.

She wondered if she'd ever really been kissed by a man before, because this wasn't like anything she'd ever experienced.

As he parted his lips slightly so did she, and she began to feel his want for more. What scared her was not how much passion he had for her, but how much she wanted him.

The feel of him was so wonderfully overwhelming and she knew if she didn't pull away soon she wouldn't be able to.

Sam gently pushed herself away from Jack's embrace.

Sam could feel his reluctance in letting her go. But unlike with Pete, she didn't feel like Jack had any desire to control her. His want to touch her didn't feel threatening, because it was laced with emotion. He seemed to be driven by nothing but a longing to be close to her.

"I'm sorry – I can't do this." Sam whispered.

Jack stood before her, remorse immediately taking hold of his features.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have-."

"No. It's not you." Sam shook her head. "It's me…I just… I just don't do this." Sam said, stepping away from him. Jack blinked at her, clearly needing some clarification as to what she meant. "I don't go home with men I just met… You see, usually I'm a very cautious person and I tend to think things through a lot. But you…"

Sam smiled slightly, looking almost bewildered.

"What?" Jack asked.

"You seem to impede my ability to think straight." Sam said, her half-smile broadening into a full one.

"Is that a good thing?"

"It's… it's a scary thing…" Sam said breathlessly. "Look what happened last time, and that was when I had my faculties about me."

It took a moment for Jack to realize she was talking about the assailant Potato Head in the car park.

"I think I can safely say, I am nothing like that guy."

"God no." Sam said earnestly. "It's just that…"

Sam gazed at him longingly, her eyes begging him to understand…

"You're afraid." Jack answered, sounding almost relieved that he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Yes." Sam said, hoping that he understood that that alone was hard for her to admit. But with all he'd given her tonight, all he'd shared, he'd certainly earned some entitlement to the same kind of openness.

"It's okay." Jack said, reaching out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. He kept himself at arms length, not willing to intrude on her personal space again.

Sam examined Jack's face. She could see the look of regret in his eyes, and it made her ache inside.

She wanted him. She wanted him more than she could ever remember wanting anything.

But she was scared. Scared that if she let him in the way she desperately wanted to that she'd lose him.

One way or another, anyone she let into her life always left, and something in her said that the loss of this man might not be something she'd recover from.

Sam thought of all the pain that the men in her past had brought her… and she had never even loved them. She never allowed herself to love them.

With the man standing in front of her she didn't seem to have been given a choice in the matter.

She had no control… and it was terrifying.

"I should go." Sam said sadly, turning to leave.

"Sam?" Jack leapt to attention. Sam turned back around, regretting her need to flee. She didn't want to leave. She just needed time to think. "Stay."

"Jack, I can't-."

"Forget about all of that." Jack said, waving towards the spot near the window where they'd been standing. "Stay."

Jack gave her a half-smile and Sam wondered how on Earth she was supposed to leave with him looking so adorable.

"You can stay here if you want. I can sleep in the basement." Jack offered. The words sounded like a joke, but his tone suggested he was completely serious.

"The basement?" Sam looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"Don't get the wrong idea… it's a very fancy basement. It's a guest room really. Not that we have too many of those…"

"Jack.." Sam said with an unimpressed tone. Jack could tell he was going to have trouble selling her on the basement idea.

"Or!" Jack said holding up a finger. "Or we could go downstairs and watch The Simpsons."

"Jack.."

"Or!" He went on. "Or we could both sleep, the way normal human beings do at this time of night."

Sam sighed.

"Now that one sounds like a rational idea."

"Okay then." Jack said, pleased he was getting somewhere in his endeavour to convince her to stay. "You take this bed… I'll go bunk in with Sara."

"Jack…"

"It's not like I haven't been doing that practically every night for the past two weeks." Jack checked his watch. 3.56AM. "Seems like she may actually sleep through tonight."

"Do you think she'll have another nightmare?"

"I really don't. Don't ask me why, but I don't." Sara seemed more happy and at peace today than he had ever seen her. "She's got an angel to protect her."

Jack smiled. Sam could feel the surge of emotions start to build again, and she was having trouble remembering why it was she was thinking of leaving.

Jack walked over to his bed and grabbed one of the pillows. He took a second to readjust the pillowcase and give the pillow a gentle beating before he started towards the door.

"Jack?" Sam said, stopping him just as he reached the doorway.

"Yeah?"

"I don't mind sharing."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I don't want you rolling onto the floor and hurting yourself…you might wake Sara." Sam smiled.

"I promise I won't try anything." Jack threw up his hands in a surrendering motion.

Sam giggled as she pulled back the covers on the bed.

Sam didn't say that deep down she hoped he _would_ try something. Despite how scared she was by her feelings… she wondered how she'd ever be able to walk away from them.

What she really needed was time to analyse whether or not she _wanted_ to walk away from them or if she should. She needed time to think, and thinking clearly within the intoxicating vicinities of the handsome man behind her seemed impossible.

Sam distracted herself momentarily by unlacing and removing her boots. She didn't dare remove any other clothing.

She could hear a loud thump from the other side of the bed, followed closely by another loud thump. She assumed it was Jack tossing his shoes aside.

Sam tried to convince herself not to look behind her to see whether or not Jack had chosen to keep his clothes on.

That temptation proved too much however.

She wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed to see that he was still fully clothed.

She couldn't help but feel it was for her benefit. He'd probably be quite warm sleeping in that sweater, and she doubted he would choose to sleep in it if it weren't out of regard for her.

Sam slipped under the covers and was impressed that Jack slept on fresh sheets.

She pretended not to notice as he removed his belt and tossed it onto the armchair in the corner of the room. He turned around and moved towards the bed, but stopped abruptly a few feet away.

Sam was resting on her side, facing Jack's side of the bed. He gazed at her with doubt in his eyes.

"You sure about this? I don't mind sleeping downstairs." Jack asked, placing his hands on his waist and tipping his head to the side. Sam couldn't help but picture how adorable that would be if he were wearing striped flannelette pajamas. Which unfortunately lead to thoughts about whether or not he slept in boxers or briefs.

"I'm sure." Sam reached over to Jack's side of the bed and pulled back the covers. "Really."


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

As Jack reached the edge of the landing, a tiresomely-familiar tune wafted up the staircase in his direction.

Just yesterday as he'd headed downstairs, he'd thought to himself that listening to Randy Newman for prolonged periods was something akin to psychological torture. And if anyone knew torture, it was him. He'd had a few nasty experiences that he kept pushed back to the furthest corners of his mind – that was where Randy Newman belonged.

But this morning his thoughts were preoccupied with something entirely different. He didn't want to open his eyes and face the day, because he knew he'd inevitably be facing her absence.

_She was gone._

_Gone._

As his foot hit the first step to make his way downstairs he noticed his chest felt a little tighter than usual. His heart was beating slightly faster while spontaneously feeling like it was seizing within his chest.

He knew even before he opened his eyes that she was gone. He felt it. He couldn't sense her presence anymore. It was strange. Strange that he could miss someone he barely knew the way he did. It was like a piece of him was missing.

_Why had she left without saying goodbye? What if she hadn't left any way to contact her? He didn't even know where she lived._

As Jack entered the living room he noticed an aroma in the air that smelt remarkably like someone had been cooking breakfast. Not something that usually happened when Mike wasn't here.

Just as Jack had predicted, Toy Story flickered on the TV sitting in the corner of the living room.

The movie titles read "Screenplay by Joss Whedon". Not for the first time Jack wondered who in their right mind would name their child 'Joss'. Clearly his or her parents did not wish for their kid to succeed in life.

As he moved closer towards the back of the couch he saw Sara's purple bunny slippers bouncing up and down erratically. He rounded the arm of the couch and the rest of Sara came into view. Jack spied a plate of chocolate-chip pancakes sitting in her lap. Sara apparently had opted out of using utensils as she clutched an oversized pancake in her little hand and tore a piece off with her teeth.

She watched the screen with the glazed over eyes she always had when being transfixed by these new fangled animated movies.

Jack wondered if Sara even noticed he was there. Then he wondered how and where she got sumptuous breakfast she was devouring. Sara knew very well she wasn't supposed to use the stove, and just the thought that she may have, and what could have happened if she did, made his heart jolt back into life.

"Sara. Where did you get those?" Jack tried not to let his fear show in his voice.

"Get what Daddy?" Sara replied, her eyes not even momentarily leaving the screen.

"Those pancakes you're eating."

Sara used the hand that wasn't holding onto the pancake to reach beside her and pick up the wooden angel.

"Sam made them for me." She said happily.

Jack felt excitement rush through him.

_Maybe she wasn't gone._

"Sam? She's still here?" Jack asked.

"Not anymore."

He felt his heart sink back down to where it had been.

"When did she go?" He asked, trying not to sound like he was interrogating her,

"Just a bit ago Daddy. She put the movie on for me. She thought I didn't know how to put the tape in myself, isn't that funny? I didn't tell her though because I liked her to help me." Sara smiled.

"Did she say why she had to leave?" Jack asked, hoping his little girl had some information that would tell him Sam hadn't run out on him.

"Her thingy went beep." Sara said, scrunching up her nose in thoughtfulness.

"What thingy?" Jack almost always found Sara's idioms spectacularly cute, but he was feeling a little impatient this morning.

"The same beepy thing you have." Sara explained, pointing the toy angel in the direction of the hallway table.

"You mean a pager?"

"I think so."

"I hate those things." Jack muttered resentfully.

He'd throw his down the garbage disposal if he could. That thing is what dragged him away countless times from what he _actually_ wanted to be doing… eating, showering, watching the game, playing with Sara…. Now it had taken Sam away.

Seeing the look of worry that had etched its way across her father's features Sara decided she needed to offer him some comforting words.

"Don't worry Daddy, Sam will come back." Sara said, her voice muffled by a mouth full of pancake.

"Did she say that?" Jack tried to hide his anxiousness from the little girl, but Sara knew him too well.

"She said she would make the cookies with me so you wouldn't have a chance to burn them."

Jack felt sure if Sam promised his little girl something like that, then she'd meant it.

"She did?"

"Yep. She said she hasn't made cookies in a long time, and she told me a sad story about her Mommy."

"Oh?"

"Yep. She was baking cookies for her Mommy when she was hurt in a car."

Jack remembered back to what Sam had told him about her mother the night before. He knew Sara must be talking about the car accident that took her life.

Jack literally ached inside. He wanted Sam here, so he could take her in his arms the way he had last night. So he could feel like he was doing something to ease her pain.

"That is very sad Sara."

"But she said she would love to make cookies again, as long as I was there to help her."

Jack smiled and for the first time since he'd woken up and found Sam gone, he felt hope in his heart.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

_Damn it. _

Jack really, really hated those beepy things.

LIGHT UP

"So this is what classifies as an emergency?" Jack grumbled, slamming his palm against the briefing room table and eyeing Daniel's crossword in disgust.

"What's up Colonel? You're in an even worse mood than usual." Kawalsky asked, leaning back in his chair and clicking a multi-coloured pen with his thumb.

"Really?" Daniel chimed, momentarily glancing up from his paper and readjusting his glasses. "Seems about the same to me."

Jack threw the archaeologist an unimpressed look.

"Oh don't mind me. I just long for the days of yore, when an _'emergency'_ was actually an emergency. You know, like Goulds about to blast our asses to kingdom come – that sort of thing."

"We don't know what's going on yet. It could be important." Kawalsky tried to soothe his disgruntled commending officer.

"Nah. If it were Hammond would either be in here already or on the red phone in there. Since I don't see him around, I'm thinking it's less of a _real_ emergency and more 'we would like to interrupt your four days of leave because we can' kind of emergency."

Jack knew very well that the majority of his bad mood was stemming from losing Sam - or at least the worry that he may have lost her.

He was used to having to drop everything and return to work, but today he just felt cheated. He felt cheated out of Sam being there when he woke up, he felt cheated of having time with his little girl. He felt dreadful about having to leave Sara with a babysitter. He needed to provide her with some sense of security. Him disappearing at the drop of a hat was the last thing he wanted. But there really wasn't any other option than a babysitter until Mike returned home.

Jack didn't want to be here, not even a little bit.

If he was going to dwell on Sam's whereabouts and her sudden disappearance from his life, then he would like to do so in the comforts of his own home.

"Why don't you try one of these?" Daniel said, tapping the tip off the pen in his hand against the book of crossword puzzles.

Jack looked at Daniel like he had lost his mind.

"Daniel, it'll be a cold day in hell before I waste my time on one of those things."

"They're puzzles for intellectuals, not something you find flipping through TV Guide. You may actually learn a thing or two. Unless…" Daniel was baiting his friend and his friend knew it. But somehow Jack never could help himself.

"Unless what?" Jack sneered.  
"You don't think you can do it." Daniel said casually.

"Don't try your reverse psychology clap-trap on me. If I wanna waste my time, I have much better ways than those things."

_No. Daniel would not rope him into this._

"Alright." The smug tone in Daniel's voice made Jack want to slap the glasses off his face.

"Give me that!" Jack dove across the table and snatched the puzzle book out of the doctor's hands before he even had a chance to react. Jack sat back in his chair and flipped through the pages with his thumb. He stopped on a seemingly random page and without a second thought, ripped the paper away from the spine.

"No! No! No! Don't!" Daniel protested, more than a little too late as seconds later Jack tossed the book back at him. Daniel haphazardly caught it, knocking his glasses a little askew.

"Four down: "The movement of water from an area with lots of water into an area with less water." Wow. How scientific!" Jack said sarcastically.

"Uh-huh, and what's the answer?"

Jack glared at Daniel while trying to maintain every semblance that he knew the solution.

He pushed his chair away from the table and spun it around to face towards the gate room window. More importantly, away from Daniel's prying eyes.

_He could do one of these things._

Jack rose from the leather seat and wandered towards the window, eyeing the tattered crossword in his hand.

"Five across: The name of one of the types of quarks found in protons and neutrons."

_Quark? What was a quark? A particle of some kind?_

Jack would never admit it to Daniel but all he could think about when it came to the word 'quark' was 'ducks'.

"So Colonel… what's the answer to five across?" Daniel called from over Jack's shoulder.

Jack spun around and placed his hands on his waist, crumpling the crossword puzzle as he did so.

"You think I don't know the answer?" He demanded.

"No. I know you don't know the answer." Daniel said it in that flighty dismissive way he said things, and Jack felt his already aggravated mood deteriorate even further.

"Where's Teal'c?" Jack asked, trying to divert the conversation until he could figure out the answer.

The satisfied smile Daniel and Kawalsky exchanged did not escape his attention.

"Not sure Colonel." Kawalsky answered, spinning in his chair to face his CO.

"If this is a team meeting he should be here. He has a lot less further to travel than the rest of us, where is he?"

"Maybe they want to exclude him from knowing about whatever it is we're here for. The higher ups still don't trust him."

Jack gave Kawalsky a warning cough as he saw Hammond appear at the top of the steps.

"My apologies for keeping you waiting." General Hammond said, entering the briefing room. Captain Kawalsky joined Colonel O'Neill on his feet, and stood to attention. "Take a seat gentlemen."

Jack declined Hammond's offer and instead opted for leaning his weight against the headrest of the chair in front of him, he was feeling a little too aggravated to sit down right now.

"Where's Teal'c, sir?" Jack asked, his tension evident in the way he spoke.

"We'll get to that in a moment Colonel." Hammond answered. He arranged a stack of papers in front of him before he began. "A little over three hours ago, SG-3 returned from a mission to a planet designated P3X-643. Prior to commencing the mission a ten mile surveillance from the UAV indicated there were no signs of alien life inhabiting the planet aside from local fauna. The mission was intended to be nothing more than a standard reconnaissance. Without any warning prior, five and a half miles from the Stargate's location, SG-3 came upon a group of Jaffa in heavy woodland. They appear to have been servants of Apophis, and the purpose of their presence on the planet is yet to be determined. Despite SG-3's attempt to remain undetected, they were made by a Jaffa scout on their retreat back to the gate. They fell back but were forced to engage with the enemy. Thankfully their numbers were few enough that SG-3 managed to not only return home safely, but in the possession of several artefacts and Goa'uld weapons which we have not previously had the chance to examine."

"Artefacts?" Daniel raised his eyebrows.

"Weapons?" Jack said, his grip tightening around the chairs leather upholstery.

"They have been taken to level 26 for inspection. We have several new personnel being transferred from Area 51. With the amount of off-world acquisitions increasing as time goes on, it has been decided that more experts are needed here to determine if what's being recovered is of high priority and what weapons technology should remain here for tactical purposes or be transported to Area 51 for further study. Several of the worlds leading scientists will be arriving over the next few weeks. If the technology is to remain here, than here is where they need to be. Teal'c has spent the past few hours assisting them in any way he can. His insights into Goa'uld technology could indeed prove invaluable."

"So why have we been called in General?"

Jack was beginning to feel impatient. He often began to feel impatient at any mention of the word 'science' or 'scientist'. Acquiring new weapons was good news and he was pleased to hear it, but he would be just as pleased to hear it on Wednesday. Clearly Teal'c and Daniel may be needed here, but if they weren't being deployed he saw no reason his presence was required. Although if he only had to stay for this briefing, he wouldn't feel too bothered by this unwelcome interruption. He may get back to Sara before she even started missing him.

"I apologize for the inconvenience Colonel, I know you and the rest of SG-1 are in much need of some well deserved leave. Dr. Bill Lee, Dr. Samantha Carter along with Teal'c will be here in a moment to brief you on their findings. If Dr. Jackson wishes to put his leave on hold, they seem to believe you'd be of some assistance to them."

Jack was stunned. He didn't hear anything Hammond had to say after 'Samantha Carter', he was too busy trying to figure out if he had actually heard it or the beautiful scientist preoccupying his thoughts had spilled over into him experiencing auditory hallucinations.

"Samantha Carter?" The words spilled from his mouth without any thought to how they would sound to his colleagues.

"Yes. She is one of the personnel who has been transferred from Area 51. She is responsible for much of the work in creating the Stargate's dialling program. The technicians here have been remote consulting with her on a daily basis, and it seems as though her expertise exceeds that of the head of our science department here. As much respect as I have for Dr. Lee, it would seem Samantha Carter is much better suited for the position."

Jack's primary reaction to the news was confusion mixed with exhilaration and fear. _She was here._

_Not gone._

Jack swallowed and felt a lump in his throat. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. His mind was racing with all the possibilities.

_Could it really be her? _

_She was a theoretical astrophysicist… She had just moved into town... She was smarter than smart… _

_It had to be her._

_What would she think when she saw him here? If she knew about the Stargate, then she probably knew about the mission to Abydos … Had she read his mission report? What would she think when she realized Jack had wanted to kill himself ? _

_He'd wanted to die even though it meant leaving Sara behind. Would she be disgusted by his weakness? His selfishness? Did she already know who he was when they first met?_

His instincts said no. The look of despair on her face when he'd told her about his child's death… it was too raw, too honest.

Jack didn't have much time to dwell on what was about to happen, as the sound of feet hitting the swirling metal staircase echoed into the briefing room.

A swash of blonde hair came into view, and sure enough there she was, as beautiful as ever… strolling into one of the most top secret facilities in existence.

Just one glance and he drank in everything. She had changed her attire into a white collared shirt and brown jacket, with matching business skirt and she had pulled the top half of her hair away from her face. She looked almost as sexy as a professional as she did in jeans and his jacket.

She was yet to look in his direction, but once she did, Jack would have his answer.

He knew people. Most of the time he could tell instantly about a person - whether it be good or bad - just from looking into their eyes.

As Sam made her way into the briefing room she stopped dead in her tracks, a look of shock dispersing across her face.

She met Jack's eyes in an instant, and then he knew for certain… she had absolutely no idea he would be here.

.

.

.

.

.

**So sorry guys. That stupid, traumatic, real life has ruined everything again and I will not meet my deadline. I will try to turn out the rest of the story ASAP. :) And I will have a surprise for you very soon (not in the story, so don't panic. I hate those kind of surprises).**


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

Jack tried to focus on what it was Dr. Carter was saying, but in spite of his efforts he barely absorbed anything. He did register that he was being shown a slide of some kind of fancy goa'uld gun that was shaped like the letter 'z'. There was also the mention of 'nickels' in there somewhere.

_Possibly it was made of nickel?_

All he knew now was that she was sitting a few feet away from him on the opposite side of the table and she seemed to be avoiding eye contact with him. Or perhaps she was just preoccupied with the conversation at hand, which Jack was pretty sure he'd have no interest in even if he had been able to follow it.

Seeing the way her face lit up when she talked about technology… it was completely mesmerising, and completely hot. He'd forgotten for a moment how besieged he felt by her unexpected appearance and drifted into a dreamlike state where the only thing that existed was Samantha Carter's voice saying things he had no chance of comprehending. It was like a soothing technobabble lullaby.

"Do we have an affirmative on that Colonel?" General Hammond asked.

The way everyone turned their attention to him and the word 'Colonel' clued Jack into the fact that he was required to speak now – the only problem being he had no idea what he had been asked or what he was supposed to say in reply.

"Uh… I'm sorry, Sir?"

"Dr. Jackson has agreed to assist Dr. Lee and Dr. Carter in helping decipher the writings on one of the artefacts. This means your leave will be extended by however many days it takes Dr. Jackson to translate the writings, if indeed he is able to do so."

"I do believe I can General, it seems to be derivative of cuneiform, if the device displays enough writings I should be able to identify a pattern and-."

"Sounds great to me General." Jack cut off Daniel. His ramblings seemed even more boring now that he'd experienced the delightful musings of Dr. Carter. "More time for bowling."

Jack chanced a glimpse in Sam's direction and caught sight of her trying not to smile.

He wished she would look at him again. He wanted her to know how glad he was to see her. Even though he would have never in his life imagined seeing her here.

"Happy to hear that Colonel. Briefing dismissed."

General Hammond rose from the desk and started wandering towards his office.

Daniel began fumbling with his briefing notes - which Jack was pretty sure he'd have to borrow if he had any chance of catching up on what he'd been told the past half hour.

Dr. Lee stood to attend to the briefing projector.

Teal'c, as usual, remained looking stoic and deep and thought.

Captain Kawalsky seemed preoccupied with the studious clicking of his pen.

Sam didn't move or look at anything other than the paper in front of her, and Jack didn't look at anything other than Sam.

Jack was reminded of that saying 'a watched pot never boils' because it felt like eons before her eyes rose from the paper to look at him – but Jack had to admit it, it was worth the wait. He'd happily wait eons for those bright blue eyes.

She glanced at him, looking unsure for a moment. It was almost as if she was trying to gauge what he was feeling before she would risk conversing with him. Jack tried to tell her with a look, that he was indeed very pleased to see her.

Her doubt seemed to wash away as she stared back without fear of being noticed, and the half-smile she gave him had Jack's heart racing.

He could feel the barriers between them tumbling down, and suddenly he was with her again - just as close as they had been last night.

Their bodies remained apart, but he could feel her with him. It was unspoken, and invisible, but more tangible than any emotion he had ever experienced. The connection he felt from nothing but a look made every cell in his body ache to touch her.

That was pretty much impossible at this moment.

"So, Colonel, wanna grab some lunch before we head back to our 'well deserved' leave?" Kawalsky asked.

Jack had to tear his eyes away from Sam's, it was almost as if she were a magnet drawing him in.

"Err…" Was all Jack could muster in reply to the Captain's question.

"So, Doctor." Daniel turned towards Sam. "Should we head up to level 26? I would like to take a look at the device right away."

"Err…" Was all Sam could muster in reply to the Doctor's question.

"Why don't we all head to the commissary for lunch first?" Jack suggested. "What do you say Teal'c? You look hungry."

Teal'c raised his eyebrow in reply.

"I'll take that as a yes." Jack said nodding and smiling encouragingly. "Kawalsky?"

"Yeah, sure." Charlie answered, looking at Jack uncertainly. He knew something was up when Jack was suggesting a get together that included Dr. Lee.

"Daniel?" Jack said, raising his eyebrows questioningly at his friend.

"Uh, yeah, sounds good." Daniel said, readjusting his glasses.

"Dr. Carter?" Jack smiled at Sam.

"I'd love to."

Neither Colonel O'Neill nor Dr. Carter noticed the way every man in the room turned to raise their eyebrows at tone Sam had used.

Teal'c only raised one eyebrow.

LIGHT UP

The six of them walked down the pipe-shaped corridor towards the elevator.

"My feeling is that it may be some highly advanced tablet that changes its inscriptions when controlled by another device." Sam walked arm to arm with Daniel. Jack noticed that it wasn't Sam who'd matched his stride, but the other way around.

"Careful there doctor, you'll have Danny Boy salivating all over the floor." Kawalsky warned Dr. Carter. He was trailing behind them beside Colonel O'Neill.

Dr. Lee and Teal'c followed somewhat awkwardly behind. Although most of the awkward was coming from Dr. Lee.

"The problem - if I'm correct that is - is that we don't have the companion device in question."

"We have the book, but can't turn the page?" Daniel mused.

"Exactly. But if you are able to translate what's currently displayed, it may give us some clue as to whether or not this technology is of any significance to us." Sam explained.

"Well I hope I can help." Daniel smiled fondly Dr. Carter.

"If anyone can, you can." Sam replied. "You're nothing short of a genius in your field."

"Never thought I'd see the day when I was referred to as a 'genius'." Daniel brushed the praise aside. "I'm quite used to 'crack pot' and 'embarrassment to the profession'."

"Those people don't know about the Stargate. If they did you would be recognized for all the incredible work you've done." Said Sam, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Well thank you, you're very kind."

Jack wondered if he could get away with kicking Daniel. Not that he was jealous or anything.

Daniel just annoyed him… that was all.

The six of them rallied around the entrance to the elevator, and Jack hit the button, trying to keep the look of displeasure off his face.

_He was going to do that crossword puzzle. He'd finish that whole damn puzzle book. He could be interested in science if he wanted to._

The elevator door swung open and everyone poured inside. Jack stood back until last, and he noticed that Sam remained standing outside. She turned to look at him, and he could see the corners of her lips curl upward in a half-concealed smile.

That smile was just for him, and he knew it.

She maintained eye-contact for as long as possible as she stepped into the elevator out of his view. She didn't seem concerned that the other four men might witness her silent communication.

She shuffled her way behind them to the back of the elevator and Jack followed closely behind her.

"What level are we going to?" Dr. Lee asked. He was standing closest to the elevator controls so it was obviously his duty to press the button.

"Sub-level 22." Kawalsky answered.

"So do we have any chance of working this device without access to the companion 'page turner'?" Daniel asked turning to look at Sam over his shoulder.

"It's possible. If the device responds to certain frequency, I may be able to create a substitute by jerry-rigging another piece of technology. The problem would lie in discovering what type of energy signal is required."

_Boy, she was smart. Too smart for the likes of him._

Which somehow made Jack want her even more.

"Feel free to take your time with that translation Danny Boy. I could use a few more days of freedom." Kawalsky slapped Daniel on the shoulder.

Jack inched a little closer to Sam.

"I'll see what I can do." Daniel answered.

"I was looking forward to some quality time with my couch. Can't wait to get back to it." Captain Kawalsky shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled to himself.

Jack's arm brushed up against Sam's, and she did a wonderful job of pretending not to notice.

"What about you Colonel?" Kawalsky peered past Daniel to look over at Jack.

"Back home to baking cookies I imagine." Jack said casually, bringing his hand up to examine his fingernails.

Everyone in the elevator turned to look at him. Sam smiled and bit her lower lip.

Clearly it was hard for these men to picture Colonel O'Neill doing anything as unmanly as baking. Sam had no problem imagining it though.

"What about you Teal'c? They treatin' you well?" Jack tilted his head to the side to look at Teal'c.

Teal'c slowly raised his eyebrow in response.

"Indeed."

Jack turned to Sam.

"He's a man of few words."

"I got that." Sam smiled at him, and Jack felt it in his gut.

All the men's attentions seemed to be focused elsewhere, so Jack decided the risk was acceptable.

He reached out and gently brushed the back of his hand against Sam's.

She flinched and pulled her hand away, and Jack felt his heart sink. Sam glanced at Jack warily, not wanting the other people in the elevator to notice.

She realised from the disheartened look on his face, that him touching her hadn't been an accident. It was her first day on the job, and she really didn't want to make a bad name for either of them. But she also didn't want to give Jack any impression that she didn't want him touching her.

That could lead to him touching her less, and she certainly didn't want that!

Sam moved her hand back to her side.

Jack could feel her soft skin slide across his as she slid the back of her hand behind his palm and gently grasped at his fingertips.

Jack widened the gaps between his fingers and Sam wrapped her palm around his pinky and ring finger.

He knew that she must feel his wedding band, and he wondered if it bothered her. He didn't want anything to make her pull away - as much as he loved his wife, and wanted to keep her with him, he also wanted respect Sam's feelings.

If any of the men were to look down behind them, there would be no way they could mistake what they were doing. Jack was pretty sure he was supposed to care about that, but not quite sure he did.

_Not even a little bit._

He knew the contact was only going to last a second longer so he tried to savour the feel of her.

He needed to talk to her. Connect with her. Just be with her…

_How was he going to make that happen?_

The elevator gave a sudden jolt, and Sam pulled her hand away. It was a good thing she did, because Jack had no plans on letting go.

The elevator doors slid open and everyone, including Sam, stepped out.

Jack moved to as far as the elevator door and leaned up against its side.

"Uh, fellas!" The men were already several yards down the corridor. "I just remembered that there was something else I had to run by Hammond" Jack pointed his thumb back over his shoulder. "So you guys go ahead… I'll catch up."

He caught Sam's eye and he hoped the figurative light bulb would appear over her head.

"Uh… I'll come with you. There were a few questions I had about the lab facilities that I have yet to discuss with him."

"Very well." Jack replied, trying to sound as off-hand as he could.

Sam walked back into the elevator smiling and Jack shuffled in behind her.

The doors slid shut on one Captain smirking, one ex-head of the science department looking slightly confused, one archaeologist as oblivious as ever, and one Teal'c raising an eyebrow.

LIGHT UP

Sam stood back and watched as Jack hit the button for level 19. She didn't bother to mention that General Hammond was most likely still down on level 28, nor did she inquire why he may be under the impression that General Hammond had relocated to level 19.

Jack stood back from the button and stared at the elevator wall for a moment.

"So… this is a surprise." He said, trying to sound as unfazed as possible.

"You're telling me." Sam smiled at elevator floor.

"Of all the places I thought you'd run off to, I did not think it would be here."

"Run off?" Sam looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"No number." Jack said simply.

"Oh." Sam smirked, knowing she'd unintentionally given him the wrong impression. "Well the thing is I don't actually have one at the moment - new house and all."

"Oh." Jack said. "So… not disappearing into the night? Or morning, as it were?" Jack smiled at her.

"No. To be honest, I was pretty reluctant to leave. I just didn't feel like being fired for tardiness on my first day."

"Something tells me they'd give you a lot more leeway than most people."

"What makes you say that?"

"Do you not hear the words that come out of your mouth? Oh, that reminds me… I need help with this crossword puzzle." Jack held his finger up in the air, indicating for her to pause the conversation for a moment. Sam smiled as Jack pulled a scrunched up ball of paper out of his chest pocket. "Five across: The name of one of the types of quarks found in protons and neutrons?"

"How many letters?" Sam asked, still smiling.

Jack counted the boxes on the paper with his pinky finger.

"Seven." He announced.

"You don't know the answer?" Sam probed - although she certainly didn't expect that he would know the answer. She'd learnt a long time ago to never expect anyone other than people in her field to understand anything related to scientific principals.

"It's not that… I just wondered if _you_ knew." Jack said fleetingly.

"Strange."

"Not really. You're a scientist. I thought you'd know all about quarks." Jack said, raising one of his eyebrows Teal'c-style.

"No. That's the answer…'strange'." Sam explained.

"Really?" Jack wasn't sure if this was some kind of joke that he didn't understand.

Sam nodded as the elevator door slid open.

Jack pulled a pen out of his chest pocket and straightened the piece of paper out against the elevator wall. He haphazardly scrawled 'STRANGE' into the crossword puzzle.

"Take that Daniel." He said victoriously.

Jack lunged for the door as they threatened to slam shut, then gestured Sam out of the elevator with as much chivalry he could muster.

Sam shook her head and tried not to giggle. Jack caught up to her stride, and nudged her gently with his shoulder.

"Not bad with quarks, hey?"

"Depends on whether you're talking about you or me." Sam smiled playfully.

"Okay, so I didn't know the answer… _perse_." Jack admitted. Sam chuckled. "Just don't tell Daniel."

"I won't." Sam replied, once again brushing the back of her hand against his.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"You know I don't trust a lot of people…" Jack said, the honesty of the statement shining through more than he intended.

"But you trust me?" Sam asked.

"Yes." Jack answered, stopping abruptly in front of a door beside him. "Even if you are a scientist." Jack eyed Sam in mock-suspicion.

"Sorry about that." Sam chuckled as she turned around to face the now stationary Colonel.

"No. Don't apologize. On you… it works."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Sam said, brushing a stand of loose hair behind her ear.

"Just as it was intended."

"What's this?" Sam said, nodding her head towards the door they were standing beside.

"I'm no scientist, but I'm pretty sure it's called a door." Jack pretended he was seriously examining the possibility it was something else.

"Yes. I realize that. I was more inquiring about what's behind it."

"Supplies." Jack said simply.

"Supplies?" Sam nodded as though she was satisfied by that answer.

"Yep."

"What kind of supplies?" She asked.

"I dunno. Paper. Gate… polish."

"Gate polish?" Sam furrowed her brow.

"Well something makes that iris shiny."

"You know I designed that."

How she could admit something so pride worthy so casually and without any trace of boasting he didn't know. That thing is what stood between the planet and a whole heap of very dangerous enemies.

"That doesn't surprise me."

"So… am I to understand that you want me to join you in a supply closet?" Sam asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I thought it might give us a chance to talk." Jack said innocently.

"I see…"

"But we could go somewhere else if you want?"

"Let's not." Sam answered swiftly.

"No. Let's not." Jack said swinging the door open to reveal a reasonably large sized storage closet. Sam stepped inside.

"This is perfectly reasonable." She said, examining the shelves full of various SGC necessities. Paper was indeed one of them.

"I agree." Jack said, closing the door behind him and leaning his back against it.

Sam smiled to herself, still facing away from him.

She remembered last night, and the way she'd crawled into his warm arms. He didn't push her, didn't want anything from her other than to be there with him. She'd never felt so safe… so at home… so _loved_. To discover now, that not only was he a wonderful father, and a gentleman, but also a hero who was willing to sacrifice his life to protect the entire world… If he wanted her in here, she doubted her ability to say no. Even if the space wasn't ideal, she just wanted to be in his arms again.

Leaving him and Sara this morning felt wrong, and this… _they_… felt so right.

Jack didn't know what he was doing, or what he intended to do. He was pretty sure he had brought her in here so they could talk in private, but at the moment talking seemed to be the last thing on his mind.

What he really wanted right now was to peel away every piece of clothing from her body so he could lay her down and kiss every inch of her.

He knew he couldn't… not here… she deserved better than that.

_If she would even want that. _

She'd let him hold her for hours until he finally fell asleep. But that didn't mean she wanted him. It didn't mean she was ready.

_They hadn't even known each other a day._

But the memory of her body pressed up against him… the way her hands clung to his shirt. He just wanted to feel that again… her warmth and soft skin.

"Jack?" Sam whispered.

"Yeah?"

She was still facing away from him, and he could barely hear her hushed voice.

"Would you mind putting your arms around me?" She asked gently.

Jack's breath caught in his chest.

"I don't know Dr. Carter. Seems like a bit of a chore to me." Jack's hands hit her hips and as soon as she could feel his strong presence behind her, she fell backwards against his chest.

She carefully took his arms and wrapped them tightly around her waist, holding them firmly in place. Almost instinctively Jack buried his face into the nape of her neck. The intoxicating scent of her long golden hair filled his senses.

Jack breathed her in as deeply as he could, not wanting to miss out on a single drop of her. He kissed her gently, softly caressing the strands of hair between his lips.

This was what he wanted… _this_… forever.

_Always. _

_Eternity._

_How did he love her so much? It made no logical sense. Maybe it was chemical? Maybe he should ask her since she was a scientist and probably knew a lot about chemicals? Maybe she could explain why she made him feel the way he did? Maybe he'd lost his mind? _

_Or maybe… this was just the way it was meant to be? _

_Sam and Jack. _

_Jack and Sam. _

_Jack and Sam and Sara._

_Yeah. That was good. That sounded right._

Jack slid his lips around to gently brush the edge of Sam's ear. His warm breath prickling her skin sent a rush of yearning through her. She knew she wouldn't be able to control herself if he kept doing that.

"Sam?" Jack whispered into her ear.

"Mmm?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For this… For you… For everything."

Sam loosened the grip she had on his arms so she could spin around to face him. His eyes conveyed so much emotion; she only wished that hers could do the same.

Sam ran her hands slowly up his chest and cupped his face with her hands.

She didn't know how to explain to him what it was she felt. Words couldn't articulate it. She felt happy … desperately so. It brought tears to the corners of her eyes, and as she inevitably brought her lips to his, they cascaded down her cheeks in a flood of emotion.

All the restraint and fear she'd had last night had been obliterated. She opened her mouth to taste him as he pulled her snugly against his body.

_God, she tasted like heaven. How was he going to stop? How was he going to stop touching her? _

Her soft lips tempted and tasted him, and Jack felt himself lose all semblance of self control. He spun her around and backed her up against he door, pinning her up against it with the weight of his body. Their kissing was desperate, frantic, he'd never felt such longing to be with anybody.

He wanted her. He wanted her beautiful soul and loving heart… her soft, slender body. He wanted all of her. She was the sea he longed to drink from until he died of thirst.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Jack pulled away from Sam, desperate to catch his breath. Sam began tucking the hem of her shirt back in. Jack wondered if he might have to kill whoever was on the opposite side of that door.

"Dr. Carter? I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's an emergency call for you, mam." Jack couldn't quite make out who it was.

Sam looked a little panicked, possibly as shocked by her own lack of control as Jack was by his.

Jack stood back and allowed Sam to open the door. Standing in the corridor was Sergeant Harriman.

Jack was definitely going to put this guy on his list. He'd already half made it on there by being the guy that requested reports he was yet to write. Even if they'd been due the day before, that still got on Jack's nerves.

"Thank you Sergeant." Sam said, stepping out of the closet and into the hallway. She started walking down the corridor without so much as a glance at Jack.

_What if he'd crossed the line with her? He'd felt sure she wanted to be with him… What if he was wrong?_

Sergeant Harriman had to jog slightly to catch up with her. Jack just stood and watched as they quickly strode towards the elevator. Jack's eyes fell to the ground. He was worried.

"Colonel?" Sam's voice rang through the narrow passageway. "We'll finish going over the supply situation later." Sam smiled at him before she stepped into the elevator.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

_That Harriman was definitely going on his list._


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Jack pulled his black coat over his civilian clothes. He wanted to stay on base with Sam, but he also wanted to get home to Sara as soon as possible.

Despite his determination to always remain level-headed, and to always have hefty doses of pessimism on hand, his mind was wandering to places he never thought he'd visit again.

_What if he and Sam had a future together? A real one? One where he didn't feel like half a person trying to function as a whole one? One with more children? With beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes like hers…_

Jack slammed his locker shut, and was rendered paralysed by what caught his eye. There was a shiny gold band staring him in the face.

He had been wearing it for over a decade. He knew the day she slipped it on his finger that it was the only one he'd ever want to wear. He knew he'd always love her… that she'd always be with him.

Jack grabbed the locker handle and pulled it open again. He reached inside and fumbled around for the cigar box that sat underneath one of his crumpled work shirts lying at the foot of his locker.

He sat down, and paused for a moment, staring at the top of the box… he still wasn't sure he was ready.

He kept all his memories in this box. His grandfather had given him the box of cigars the day he had turned eighteen - it was a memento in itself - and inside sat every letter, every photo, every person, place and thing that ever meant anything to him.

He rarely opened it. When he did it was to place something inside, never to visit or explore what was in it. It hurt. It meant the world to him, and it was everything he was afraid of.

This was his life in his hands. All the photographs and memoirs somehow painted a picture of who he was.

But if he were to open it and really look, he knew all he'd see was loss… was people and things that didn't exist anymore.

It was his own personal Pandora's box. Only instead of evils it contained grief and pain, and he was scared that if he ever opened it for too long it may just envelop him.

But he knew if he wanted a future - a happy one - he had to face his past and find a way to move forward.

Jack took a deep, steadying breath and he opened the lid.

The first thing he laid eyes on was his wife.

_His beautiful wife who loved him more than he ever deserved._

The picture was small, taken with a Polaroid camera in 1987. She was pregnant with Charlie. She hadn't wanted Jack to take the photo, because she insisted she looked 'too fat'. Jack had told her… "The baby will want to see what he looked like from the outside."

That baby was gone now too…

_Charlie._

Jack picked up a picture of his son. It was larger, glossy, taken in 1994. Charlie was holding his little league trophy. Jack had his arm around him.

Mike had taken that photo. It was one game Jack had actually managed to make, and he'd gotten to see his boy make the home run that won his team the season. He was an excellent batsman; Jack knew he would be the very first time he taught him how to swing.

He picked up the crumpled and scratched photo of the baby he'd loved so very much in 1988. Charlie loved that that rubber duck. He'd loved lots of things in the few precious years he was living and breathing.

Jack felt as though a knife had been stabbed through his heart. It all came back in flashes. But he knew some of the images he'd never really seen before. He never saw Charlie dragging a chair towards his closet. He never saw his wife begging the doctors to save her life. He never saw the bullet tear through his son's chest.

Those were images his own mind had created to torture him with. He knew that, but he didn't know how to stop it. If he shut it out it would just stay there in the back of his mind, with him spending the rest of his life trying to escape it… running from himself.

Jack shut his eyes and tried to block out all the grief tearing through him. He looked inside himself to find something to hold onto, something that would ground him.

_Sara._

Jack took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He felt a calm settle within him. Out of everything he'd done in his life… she was the only thing that was right. The only thing he hadn't ruined. The only thing hadn't lost.

Jack shuffled through the pictures and found a picture he'd put in the box the day he'd brought it to the SGC. The day he'd gone off-world to find Daniel… the day he wasn't sure if he'd be coming back…

Sara in her pink ballet costume.

He'd brought that dress for her. It was the most expensive one in the store - some designer label. But that was the one she wanted. Apparently she'd outgrown the eight purple ones he'd bought her previously.

Sara had wanted it, but she never did ask for it. She rarely asked for anything, and she appreciated everything she was given.

She was his saviour everyday, and today in this moment she was going to save him one more time.

She'd lost almost as much in her short life as he had in his long one.

She'd lost a parent as she took her first breath… instead of being held and nurtured by her mother's warmth, she was left alone in plastic tub. Her father crumbled.

Her brother... her best friend… her hero… she'd seen…

The fabricated images in Jack's mind… the one that caused him so much fear and despair… they were real to her. She'd heard the gun shot. She'd been there when they took Charlie's body.

Jack was grateful that he never had to face that. But his little three year old had… without him.

And yet she looked at the world around her and saw nothing but beauty. She had such a remarkably compassionate heart. Jack sometimes wondered where on Earth she came from.

Whatever he did for the rest of his life, it had to be for her. He had to do whatever it took to keep her safe. He had to do whatever it took to make her happy.

She had never known what it was to have a mother. If there was a chance that he could give her that, he needed to find the strength within him to do it.

Jack smiled at the photo of his daughter and put the rest of the pictures back in the box.

He balanced it on his knees so he would have both hands free.

Slowly his right hand reached his left finger and gently he slid off his wedding band.

Jack held it in his fingers and looked at it one last time.

He silently told his wife the goodbye that life had cheated him out of. He promised her that there would never be day of his life that he wouldn't carry her with him.

Jack placed it in the cigar box with the rest of his past and closed the lid.

LIGHT UP

"Good morning, campers." Jack crooned, wandering into the level 26 research lab.

"I believe it is past noon O'Neill, and we do not appear to be camping." Teal'c said, hands clasped behind his back and eyeing him curiously.

"See Teal'c, the thing is, not everything we Earthlings say is always literal."

"I see." Teal's said with a slight hint of disapproval.

He turned to Daniel, who was leaning over the inscripted-dealy sitting on the lab table. In the time Jack was gone he'd managed to carry up half a library from his quarters, most of which lay open and spread across the table.

"Making any headway?" Jack asked, making a genuine effort to sound enthused. He promised himself he would at least attempt to look like he was interested in knowing what was going on, not just there to inquire as to the whereabouts of Dr. Carter.

He planned on going home, but he felt he had to see her one last time before he left.

"Not as such. It's looking doubtful that I can translate this without more of the scripture." Daniel answered, picking up a large book that looked centuries old.

"Ah, the ever-elusive 'page turner' has us in a bit of a bind then?" Jack said, drumming his fingertips against the lab table.

"Right." Daniel flipped over the page he was looking at, seemingly involved in his readings.

"Perhaps Dr. Carter can help us out there?" Jack said, trying to keep his tone casual.

_Smooth O'Neill._

Jack couldn't help but feel pleased that he'd managed to get onto the subject of Sam so quickly.

"Hopefully. But it seems we have never encountered this technology before. It could take a while - if it's even possible at all."

"Not goa'uld then?" Jack thought he really owed himself a congratulations for not directing the conversation straight back to Sam.

"No. If it were of goa'uld origin Teal'c would be able to read this to us. It's likely they scavenged it from P3X-643, or possibly some other planet."

"Where's Dr. Lee?" Jack almost managed to sound as though he actually cared. "Shouldn't he and Dr. Carter be here tinkering with you?"

Daniel cleared his throat.

"Dr. Lee has gone to fetch me a coffee – I work best with a coffee in my hand."

"I see." Jack said, sounding slightly sceptical. He was beginning to think the good doctor had a bit of a substance-abuse problem. He seemed to get a little cranky after they'd been off-world a few hours and Jack was pretty sure caffeine-withdrawal was the issue.

"I believe Daniel Jackson finds Dr. Lee's presence of little value." Teal'c stated.

"He was… hovering. It's distracting."

"And Dr. Carter?" Jack pushed, feeling more and more impatient by the second.

"I'm sure she'll be a great help when she gets back." Daniel said, placing the book back on the lab table.

"Back from where?"

"Apparently there's been a fire at her house."

"What?!" Jack almost yelled.

Daniel shot Jack a confused look. Jack hadn't meant to react so strongly.

"I haven't seen her since she went to speak with General Hammond, so I'm not completely sure of the details, but Harriman told me she left a few hours ago."

_Damn._ That would have been the 'emergency call' the Sergeant had pried her away for.

"Was she okay?"

"Jack, I just told you, I haven't seen her."

"Right." Jack nodded. "Yes. Excuse me."

Jack turned on his heel and fled the room as fast as he could.

LIGHT UP

Lost.

She was lost.

Samantha Carter was a person who always liked to know what was coming next. She was the kind of person who, when playing a game of chess, always had her next three moves decided. She didn't like to take things as they come, at least not if she could possibly avoid it.

When she was confronted with a problem, a blockade in the road of life, she always had her wits about her. Things that could pose a serious problem to others rarely fazed her because she had intelligence and resilience to handle those things that did manage to catch her by surprise.

But this… she wasn't quite sure how to handle.

It was rare that someone's life should be turned to rubble in such a literal sense. The smoke burning her eyes and filling her lungs made it impossible not to realize the reality of the situation.

She knew she should leave. She should get in her car and go somewhere. But since she wasn't sure where that somewhere was, she continued to wander aimlessly amongst the piles of cinders.

The fire had been extinguished long before she'd arrived. Since she'd owned the house less than a week, none of her would-be neighbours could provide her contact details or even her name.

Still the smell of smoke was strong enough that it felt hard to breath. Though Sam couldn't tell if the burning in her chest and sick feeling in her stomach was a result of the smouldering wreckage or her devastating loss.

She knew she had no hopes of recovering anything.

Her childhood photographs… her mother's belongings… her most treasured possessions… they were all gone.

She didn't place too much importance on material possessions, but there were some things in life that could never be replaced.

Her mothers wedding dress was just one of those things. She'd worn it only for a day, but Sam could swear that it smelled like her.

That was something no amount of time or money could bring back.

Sam walked back towards the garden hedge – the one thing that looked unscathed by the flames. Well, _almost_. There were a few torn pieces of hedge lying on the lawn; she supposed the fire-fighters had caused the damage by pulling hoses over it.

Sam felt sick. Really sick. She wasn't a person who had a weak stomach, but the sudden wave of nausea she felt made her realize she had to sit down.

She fell back clumsily onto the grass, feeling grateful that she was now hidden from the prying eyes of neighbours that she'd been scrutinized by for the past few hours. She knew they meant no harm. Some were going so far as to offer words of sympathy and support. But having her loss be made a spectacle of just made things worse somehow.

Sam pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged her legs tightly against her. Her head hung low as she slumped her forehead down to rest.

She felt dizzy, like the world was spinning.

_Could Pete really have done this?_

She found it hard to believe.

But maybe that was because she really didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to think that someone she once trusted could hurt her so badly.

_Why? Why would he do this? He couldn't have. Pete was a mess of a person, but he wasn't this spiteful… this childish… was he? Could her instincts really be that poor? _

Sam lifted her head from her knees and glimpsed the dilapidated ruins of her new home.

If she thought about it from an objective point of view… _it fit._

_Arson… It was cowardly. He didn't have to face her… didn't have to look her in the eye to hurt her. It didn't take gumption. It took impulsivity and thoughtlessness. He could just throw that can of fuel he carried in the trunk of his car over her porch and drop his lighter, before heading straight out of town… feeling like he'd had the last word._

As much as the realisation stung, her ever-logical mind insisted it was a true possibility.

She'd known almost as soon as she had met Pete that he wasn't right for her. At the time he was so friendly, and kind, and seemingly desperate to make her happy. She felt obligated to give him a genuine chance, despite her lack of interest.

If only she'd trusted her heart instead of letting her head take the lead the way it always did, she would have never gotten so deeply involved with him.

It wasn't her instincts at all that had lead to this mess, but her need to always do what reason said was best.

She knew the very first time Pete touched her that it didn't feel right.

_Why didn't she listen? Why didn't she trust herself? Her feelings? She always relied on her head to tell her what was true… what was real. Apparently her mind was off-duty though, since it sure as hell hadn't determined this as a possibility when it was convincing her that Pete had done nothing wrong and she was just looking for excuses to run away._

Sam laid back onto the grass and stared up at the blue sky, which was quickly losing light. The scattered clouds were beginning to turn pink and orange.

She hadn't realised how late it was. The day had past by in a swirl of activity and information. She felt a world away from Jack and if she went only a short time longer without seeing him she might even be able to convince herself that he was just a dream.

She could see her breath in the air - an unpleasant reminder of how cold she was. She couldn't go inside and put on her favourite winter coat because there was no inside, and her coat was now a pile of ash along with the rest of her belongings.

Sam knew if anyone were to walk by they might see her lying there, but for the moment she didn't care. She was too busy trying to contain the grief in her heart to care much about her level of decorum. Maybe if she'd lead the military life her father wished for her she might have the discipline to contain herself, but that was a life she hadn't chosen.

Sam rolled onto her side and tried to convince herself not to cry.

Every time she thought her life was going somewhere she wanted it to, something always came along and stole all her hope away. She thought this time was different.

_He'd followed her all this way, just so he could hurt her._

_She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't give him that._

_Even if he'd never know… she would._

_She wouldn't cry._

The sound of the front gate screeching open startled her and she quickly shot up into a sitting position.

She spun around and was shocked to see Jack standing there on her front path.

She caught sight of him just before he spotted her, and when he did his usual stern, commanding appearance immediately softened.

Within moments his eyes seemed to well with empathy and concern. Sam just sat there and stared back, shocked by his sudden appearance and overwhelmed by the onslaught of emotions she felt just from his presence.

Jack closed the gate slowly and turned to walk towards her.

"Rough day?" Jack asked.

Sam smiled, and to her surprise, it was a genuine smile. She stared down at the ground and brushed her hair away from her face.

"You could say that." She said softly.

Jack came to a stop at her side and sat down beside her on the grass.

"I like the new place." Jack said gesturing towards the pile of rubble.

Despite herself Sam burst into fits of laughter. She leaned onto his side, grateful with all her heart that he had somehow found her. Her giggles dissipated into gentle sobs and Jack gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest.

"It'll be okay." Jack whispered into her hair.

He held her close for a good ten minutes, even after she'd stopped crying. She didn't want to move from the comfort of his arms, and he seemed reluctant to let her go.

"What do you say we grab a pizza for dinner? I know that's two nights in a row, and that's not exactly good for the waistline, but I'd say after the day you've had you've more than earned it."

Jack released Sam from his embrace so he could gauge her reaction. She pulled away to look at him and Jack raised his eyebrows at her encouragingly.

"I don't know." She said, looking away from him.

"Well, alternatively we could stay here until it gets completely dark and freeze our butts off all night." Jack said, as he began to pull his coat off.

"Jack, don't!" Sam said holding up her hand.

Jack ignored Sam's protest and wrapped the jacket around her shoulders.

"I bet the jacket's overjoyed, probably didn't think it would be seeing you again so soon."

"You'll freeze." Sam said sternly.

"I'll live." Sam sighed, and Jack could tell she had surrendered. "But I do like the sounds of that nice warm pizza. What do you say?"

The light from the sky was very dim now, and it was getting harder to make out Sam's expressions. Jack was pretty sure she he saw a smile flicker across her face.

"I know a little girl who will be even more pleased than the jacket to see you again. Plus I hear there're cookies to bake or something?"

"Oh! That's right! I said I'd help her. I hope that's okay." Sam said, almost sounding a little nervous.

"Okay Dr. Carter, I'm gonna make this real simple, because simple is what I do best. Come home with me and eat pizza."

There was a moment of silence between them that made Jack want to lean in and kiss her.

"Okay." Sam said gently.

"Okay?"

"Yeah. I can't exactly say I have house chores to do, can I?" Sam said, gesturing across her front lawn towards the wreckage.

"You could say you have to wash your hair." Jack shrugged.

"I have no shower."

"Maybe you left something on the stove?"

"And I'm worried the burnt rubble is going to catch on fire?"

Sam started laughing again. Of all the things she thought she might be doing tonight, she didn't think laughing would be one of them.

Once her laughing had died down into a smile she noticed that he was staring at her. She placed her hand over the top of Jack's and curled her fingers through his.

"Thank you." She said softly.

"For what?" Jack asked, using his free hand to brush her hair behind her ear.

"For being here for me."

"Always."

Jack climbed to his feet and reach down to take Sam's hands. He helped her to stand and she stumbled into him a little.

"One question." Sam said, taking one of his hands as he began leading her to the front gate. "How did you know where I lived?"

"I hovered threateningly above Harriman. Took him about two seconds to get me the address."

Jack unlatched the gate and held it open for Sam to step through.

"So you're not stalking me then?" Sam asked, as Jack joined her on the sidewalk.

"You sound disappointed." Jack replied, taking her hand once more.

"Maybe a little." Sam smiled.

Jack and Sam started walking in the direction of his car, which was parked just across the street.

"I could get some binoculars, set myself up in the park here so I could look through your windows…" Jack stopped in the middle of the empty street and turned to look at the space where there was once a house. "Except…"

"I don't have any windows…" Sam finished for him, the laughter already taking hold.

"You have me beaten at every turn!"


End file.
